The Human Within
by rusticangelic
Summary: After the fall of Jacinto, life for Sergeant Ollyvar Wilks and his squad became complicated. Allied with a notorious Stranded village, their struggle for survival surpasses the constant threat of the Lambent and Locust into one of a more human element. The Sequel to Nowhere to Run. Front Cover Image Illustrated by MyFantastiWorld.
1. Chapter 1 - An Uneasy Alliance

Welcome to The Human Within, those who may want a little background history in these main characters I would suggest you go and read Nowhere to Run as this is the Sequel based on the Original Characters created within that Gears World. Whilst Nowhere to Run ran alongside Gears 2, this story runs parallel to the events of Gears 3 during the Lambent invasion, because lets face it even though Marcus' story has already been told it doesn't mean that the other Gears don't have other equally fascinating stories to tell.

So please read and enjoy, this will be an ongoing story which I plan on slowly realising on a monthly basis which means I need to get my ass in gear and work on the following chapters. I appreciate all comments and predictions.

Welcome to the World of Ollyvar Wilks.

* * *

 **Chapter One - An Uneasy Alliance**

 **-Two Years After the Sinking of Jacinto-**

* * *

A heavy fist grabbed Sergeant Ollyvar Wilks roughly by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall. Wilks heaved in a breath gripping hold of his attacker's hands and took in the towering giant before him.

"Burn," he chokingly coughed, feeling the crushing pressure on his windpipe, "what a pleasure, what can I do for you?"

Burn was a brute of a man and a notorious Stranded Leader. He wore a patch over one eye and half his ear was missing. Over the same damaged side of his head a metal plate had been nailed to the remnant of his existing skull. Wilks' own disfiguring scars that ripped down the side of his face to his chest were meagre in comparison. He had learnt never to cross the wrong side of him.

"That girl of yours," Burn gruffly snarled breathing an odorous mixture of tooth decay, alcohol and fish over him, "She's been raiding the ammo cache again. Reel her in Sergeant before I am forced to do it myself."

Wilks nodded, silently cursing the object of Burn's ire.

"Of course, I'll send her a friendly reminder to return her weaponry to you once she has finished her shift for the night. She is after all protecting the civilians within your perimeter."

Burn eyed him up suspiciously as he released his fist from Wilks' neck. He was an older man with a reputation as a ruthless leader, the fact he was Stranded added to the tension between them. The Sergeant and his squad had turned up at his gates begging for sanctuary along with a few remnant from Jacinto's refugees. Wilks had offered themselves as protection for his Village in return for their own safety. As much as Burn detested the COG he knew the small battle worn group of Gears would provide invaluable safety to his own people. His own personal vendetta against the COG would have to be put on hold whilst he utilised their abilities first.

"Be sure she toes the line Wilks, she has a habit of getting on the wrong side of people,"

"Don't I know it," Wilks muttered between clenched teeth.

"I'd hate for something to happen to her," He pointedly added, "You know how accidents occur out of nowhere around here."

Wilks cautiously watched as the Stranded leader stalked moodily away, his band of protective guards following closely behind him. When he knew it was safe to do so he let out a heavy sigh and ran a brusque hand through his dark hair, tugging on the longer strands as he deliberated his next move. Nothing was ever simple.

Slowly he plodded back towards his sleeping quarters, his squad had been placed in several shared domiciles dotted strategically around Burn's Stranded village. Wilks had very little say in where they were located, his main concern was getting his extended family to safety regardless of what it meant for him. The village was overcrowded, filled to capacity with the extras from Jacinto desperate to find a secure place to take refuge.

In the years since Jacinto had fallen the majority of the city's occupants had fled to an island called Vectes along with most of the COG's army. For others however, they clung to the mainland drawn to the security of a vast Stranded Stronghold overlooking the ocean. It commanded several fishing vessels and conducted vast hunting expeditions so the village took care of itself. Although it had a disorganised protection team, it lacked the strength and unity that Wilks was able to provide with his Gears. So now Wilks ran the unit in charge of protecting the civilians in Burn's Village.

Two years Wilks marvelled at how much his life had altered, as he negotiated his way between the rows of grubby washing hanging from lines between slats in the buildings. He had gotten used to the daily dance of darting between the villagers to get to where he wanted to get. The whispers and unkind glances in his direction as he passed them had made him feel relieved at his own private sanctuary to escape them all.

He ducked under a damp sheet and felt for the door handle to his lodgings juddering the door open and pushing it shut after him. Although the village had avoided a direct hit on the Hammer Strikes many years ago, some buildings on the outskirts had been classified unsafe for habitation. Most of the newer construction had been put together with scavenged scrap, what little was left lying around. So he appreciated the roof over his head, even if it meant he also had to share it with someone else.

They had been given a small room with two rickety single beds and one large blanket. When Wilks had asked for another he was told to push the beds together and share, there were very few spare resources especially with the influx of new citizens. His roommate had done their hardest to add that extra homely touch to their cramped shared space and he had been grateful for it. He had never gotten used to living with someone in such close confines before, despite growing up in Army Barracks and Mess Halls. But somehow they had reached a compromise and opted to work opposite shifts to give the other the space they needed.

It wasn't as if they were the only ones that had to compromise on their living situation, the rest of his squad had been allocated equally as awkward conditions. His second in command and medic Cam Ceorl had been given a room with his engineer Miles Walden. Generally Cam and Miles would have welcomed their new environment, as they got on well with one another. Except their reality presented them with a room that could only be constituted as a child's bedroom; a small cramped space with a rickety set of bunk beds that would have barely held for teenagers let alone heavily built Gears. Neither men were particularly happy with either sleeping position.

The only one of his squad who had been given a decent living arrangement was Tate Farr and his long term girlfriend Sofie. Since fleeing Jacinto it hadn't taken the pair long to produce their first child, with a new one born every nine months give or take. As an incentive for keeping the human population afloat almost singlehandedly they had been allocated a small shack located amongst the other families in the village along with whatever provisions they demanded to assist with their growing brood. They were expecting the fourth child any day now and the village citizens had been eagerly awaiting the sounds of another newborn to add to the growing future generation of Stranded Seran Citizens.

Wilks dropped to his bunk and felt it creak under his weight. He reached down, unbuckled his boots and kicked them off his tired feet. He peeled his shirt over his head and felt himself drop to the bed. As he lay back staring at the dark decaying ceiling above him he ran his fingers across the scars that marked his body and had changed his life. Most significantly was the long arching claw marks that had seared its way from his face down to his belly. No one outside his squad had witnessed the full extent of his injuries, most were too scared to question it further. His scars had secured him as a formidable member within the Stranded community. As an unfamiliar COG Sergeant who held control over the few weapons inside the Compound, no one wanted to cross his path in the dark. His fingers rested on a more recent stab mark on his shoulder and it made him wonder how often he had nearly lost his life. He lay for a while listening to the people in the structures around him. The muffled chatter reverberated around him whilst the odd squeal of laughter from a child drew him from his repose. So much innocence completely oblivious dangers that still threatened their existence.

In the two years they had lived as Stranded the appearance of Locust had diminished significantly. He knew they were still there somewhere, he guessed they were doing what the humans were doing, finding places to just survive. What had unnerved him was the increase in glowing creatures. Spider like Polyps were a frequent visitor in the wasteland, skittering around in the barren earth seeking out stragglers. More recently huge Lambent Stalks had appeared in the ocean bearing pods filled with Polyps, some onto unsuspecting boats blowing it sky high. Not that the civilians here knew about it, yet.

Wilks wondered what it would take for it to ever end.

* * *

An eerie mist crept low over the silent long deserted streets. Thin wispy tendrils reached out to infect any human life with its cold dank presence. Some distance below waves gently caressed against the sharp jagged cliffs kissing the rocks before receding momentarily and rushed to meet the cliff again.

Perched on the roof of a decaying church bell tower sat a young female Gear. Night had lulled her as she watched a pack of dogs stalk for prey outside the walls of the village along the derelict streets. She followed the animals through the scope of her Longshot, watching as they sniffed around the walls in interest. She tracked them as their attention drew to skittering in the darkness, thundering down the streets in pursuit. The dogs were quick to draw out a Polyp that had gotten separated from its pack. Howls of glee echoed through the darkness as the beasts took the creature down before it even realised it was being chased. Ripping apart its spindly limbs from its torso, it partially exploded with a splatter of Imulsion spewing forth over the dogs. With an undisturbed shake the Alpha sniffed at the dead creature, stepping back in disgust before cocking a leg and peeing over the corpse. Not even wild dogs ate Lambent Polyps.

She usually followed the antics of the dog pack at night. The animals, although a danger to the inhabitants of the village, also did a good job at flushing out any errant Locust or Lambent.

She dropped gently to the roof, resting her eyes for a moment to take in the sound of the ocean. She had gotten used to the change in her life not so many years ago, although she just hadn't expected every day to be a struggle for survival. She placed her Longshot at her feet as she rubbed roughly at her head with both hands. Loose blonde strands jumped wildly from their restraints and tumbled against her face. She untied her hair to let the gentle curls fall loosely into a messy bob at her shoulders. It was times of such solitude and silence that she relished the moments to just be herself.

Voices down in the streets below alerted her and she angled herself to watch a group of men arguing. The Stranded argued about anything these days so she took their scuffles lightly, plus it wasn't her job to protect the civilians against themselves. She continued to watch as one man pulled a knife out and held it to the throat of another, his friends cheering him on. Cautiously she angled her Longshot to gain a clearer view of the encounter. Aware that the situation could quickly spiral out of control, she slot a bullet into the chamber and aimed at the guy with the knife, firing into the wall inches away from his head. He leapt backwards and looked around for the offending sniper. She saluted back at him from the safety of her tower. He pointed at her then at his eyes before stalking off into the darkness.

She'd be regretting that later.

Tate relieved her from her duties a few hours later. Clearly still half asleep he plonked himself heavily next to her.

"One of those nights eh," she commented as she nudged him playfully.

"Just spent half the night awake with Carra, as soon as she settles Mikki takes it as his cue to follow the chorus. The moment he goes down Arlo decides to one up his twin and we have projectile vomit everywhere, took me the rest of the night to clear that up with Carra yelling for me from the nursery. I'm trying to let Sofie rest as much as possible with the new baby due any day now, but sometimes nights just get to me."

"You know the answer to that Tate," she responded, "Stop having children."

He sent her a look, "I don't appreciate your humour."

She smiled at him as he stretched his legs out. Tate was an attractive young man and worked hard to maintain his fitness despite the long hours he spent dedicating his time for his young children. He was a similar age to their Sergeant but had developed a strong working bond with her after several months of a joint training schedule. He was a good soldier with a penchant for attracting injuries, but within recent years the arrival of his family had kept him away from any serious danger and into more of a training role. Their biggest threat had been Tate's girlfriend Sofie who had instantly taken a dislike to her the moment they had first met, made worse by their regular shifts together and Sofie's advancing pregnancies.

"Anyway it's not my fault Sofie falls pregnant the moment we sleep together."

"Pretty sure it is,"

"Don't even know what fun is any more,"

She raised her hands up in surrender, "Don't come anywhere near me with your super virile man parts."

He let out a loud laugh as she scrabbled to her feet, "If only I had met you before Sofie."

"As if she needs another reason to want to knife me in my sleep, Tate," She strapped her Longshot across her shoulders and tied her hair back in a knot. Tate thoughtfully watched every move she made.

"I think she has enough on her plate right now rather than plot against you,"

"You thought of a name for the upcoming offspring yet?" She asked quickly, chancing a change in subject before he continued.

She watched as his eyes glazed slightly as he considered his options, "Sofie wanted to call it Ippo."

"For a boy or a girl?" she frowned at him.

"Either,"

"Do me a favour Tate, give at least one of your children a normal name," She headed towards the steps then turned back to him, "before Sofie has you well and truly under her thumb."

* * *

As she had rightly expected he had been waiting for her in the shadows at the foot of the steps. He grabbed hold of her and thrust the knife against her, pressing it lightly against her neck.

"You think that was funny back there," he spat at her.

"Actually what I saw was you attempting to slice someone's throat," she responded calmly.

"You know nothing,"

"I know plenty Archer," she eased her fingers over the knife and pushed it away from her neck.

Archer was Burn's second in command and had pretty much made it his duty to make their lives as difficult as possible. From the moment they had taken up residence he had stationed men to track the movements of the Gears within the confines of the village. His presence alone had delayed the allocation of their living arrangements, a quiet word in a certain ear had prevented them from bartering for provisions for a full week. Fortunately Wilks had been equally as distrustful and had withdrawn his squad during a raid until Archer had agreed terms for a more agreeable living standard.

"You care to share?"

She tightened her hold on his knife and twisted it from his hand so his precious genitalia was now held at delicate blade point. He swallowed looking back uncertainly at her.

"You wouldn't,"

"Maybe," she playfully pressed the knife a little harder than he would have liked against his crotch. He flinched backwards from her, "I'll keep hold of this for insurance."

"I'm watching you," he threw a final word of caution, "this will be reported in the morning."

She turned to him and sent him a middle fingered gestured, "report away Archer."

* * *

She noted the flicker of light coming from her sleeping quarters as she darted between the hanging sheets to reach her room, it seemed that everyone had been waiting to confront her these days. Quietly she opened the door, it creaked loudly back at her in contempt, inside Wilks sat on the bed with a disassembled Lancer scattered around him. He looked up from the bits of gun and sent her an expression.

"Who'd I piss off now?" she asked as she closed the door, locking it securely after her.

"The last person you could possibly want to piss off; Burn," he looked unimpressed.

"You might need to remind me what I'm accused of now," she turned her back to him to strip her squad uniform off and dress herself in scruffier casual fatigues.

"You were caught raiding the ammo cache,"

"I was not," she whirled round to him as she pulled a vest over her revealing features, "they must have been spying on me again."

Wilks watched the biggest secret he ever had to live with. Before him in a state of undress and very likely wearing one of his vests stood Aidan, a survivor from a Compound he had saved shortly before Jacinto had sunk. In order to protect her from the threat of birthing farms he had become her guardian until she came of age. But shortly after Jacinto fell apart events occurred which forced Wilks to take his squad family into refuge, along with a few fleeing Jacinto civilians. Aidan became Aidie Wilks completely out of bounds to anyone who went near. During his guardianship he spent every waking moment training and pushing Aidie to be a faster, stronger Gear. It put a strain on their friendship and she very nearly walked away. But now at the age of eighteen Aidie was free of Wilks' guardianship and able to leave if she desired. For the meanwhile they still shared a rickety bed pretending that neither had feelings for the other, whilst Wilks waited for the moment that she would decide that she'd had enough.

"That's the point, regardless of whether they were spying on you Aide, you shouldn't have been helping yourself to the ammo,"

"So how else am I supposed to protect these people if they won't give me the bullets to do so," she slipped her jeans down her thighs and wriggled out of them till they were bundled on the floor around her feet. She kicked it away from her and stood with her hands on her hips staring back at him, hair ruffled in various directions as her challenging icy blue eyes met his.

"You forget how little control I have here Aide, we are nothing more than security dogsbodies to these people," he half turned almost shyly away to suppress a blush that bloomed over his cheeks, clicking the last part of his Lancer together as a diversion. He was a grown man and her Sergeant, he would never allow her to see the feelings he truly felt for her. She meant too much to him to jeopardise their relationship any further.

"So what, I protect these people with stones?" She had a strong stubborn spirit which had only grown as she had developed as an adult.

"If you need bullets you'll have to request them from Archer, he has control over ammunition distribution,"

"You have to be fucking kidding me," she kicked at the foot of the bed revealing a scar etching its way up her leg starting with a bite mark around her ankle, "Archer? seriously! I just caught that asshole trying to slice someone's throat, I nearly castrated the bastard."

"Aidan," Wilks sighed as he massaged his temples, "why is it so hard for you to just toe the line once in a while."

"If toeing the line means watching Archer slice people up, I'm out,"

"Then leave," he rose to his feet and padded towards her, "no one asked you to stay longer than you had to."

A mixture of hurt and anger flashed through her eyes as she looked up at his towering muscular form. "You don't mean that."

"Don't I?"

They stared each other down for what seemed like hours, the only one who could challenge her stubborn nature. Since living in such close quarters they had frequently clashed over pointless specifics. As her Sergeant he did as much as he could to push her away to make her a better soldier, but her individuality pushed him back. He had never been challenged so much by one person. Recently their confrontations had become charged with tension as they pushed the other further to the edge. Their clashes felt like a drug that both were drawn to the more they experienced it.

"Tell me you want me to leave and I'll go," she turned from him to pull on a pair of shorts, "your life would be so much better without me anyway."

"So much easier without having to make sure one errant troublemaker does what they're told," he growled huskily, "and this entire room all to myself."

"Do I mean that little to you?"

"Why not?"

She raised her hand to strike him but he gripped her wrist in time, drawing her closer to him. Her free hand pressed against the scars on his chest feeling the rapidly tapping of his heart against her fingers.

"Why are we even here?" she quivered slightly.

"You know why," his voice barely a husky whisper

"We could have survived on our own, we could have protected ourselves,"

"How long do you think that would have lasted? We needed medical help. We needed protection, "

"Is this really any better? How desperate were we?"

"They are protected Aidan and that's all that matters,"

"At what cost?"

His stormy dark eyes cast themselves over her, the only woman who had witnessed his scars in their entirety and had never shied away from them. It scared him that he had become so fully reliant on her and he doubted he would ever fully recover should she choose to walk away.

"Tell me to leave then," she pushed.

He leaned in closer to her, his lips drifting across the tiny hairs of her neck, sending a shudder down her spine, till they reached her ear. His other hand pressed against the small of her back.

"Never," his words teased at her.

He heard her exhale, he shifted to lean his forehead against hers forcing her to meet his dark eyes. Such honesty reflected back at her.

"Never," he reaffirmed.

A sharp rapping on the door drew the pair apart as a voice urgently called to them.

"Sergeant Wilks, you're needed now," it yelled against the door.

Wilks grabbed hold of a t-shirt before opening the door, Aidie stood back to wrap a tattered cardigan over her quivering limbs. One of Burn's men stood splattered in a mixture of mud, soot and blood.

"What the..." Wilks exclaimed as he took the Stranded in, "What the hell happened?"

"Burn needs you Sergeant," he stuttered as he peered around Wilks to take in Aidie, "he needs all of you."

They followed the Stranded as he sprinted towards the harbour where the entire area was ablaze. Tate had coordinated a group to assist in fighting the fire that was rapidly tearing down the wooden shacks across the front of the harbour. Cam and Miles who had not long joined the fray had jumped straight into the action, Cam tending to the burn victims and Miles passing buckets of sea water up a line of civilians to the buildings. Out in the shallows of the sea, swishing and swaying a Lambent Stalk filled with swollen pods full of Polyps, an impending sense of doom. Another Stalk hung over the harbour with its now empty pods squirting Imulsion over the burning ruts of the jetty.

"Shit," Wilks exclaimed as they took in the scene.

Burn silently approached him, "we need your help Sergeant. Those glowing creatures appeared from nowhere. They've killed at least six people with countless more casualties. The boats are destroyed. If that lad of yours wasn't on shift I dread to think how many more would have lost their lives."

"I can't deal with this without the ammo Burn," Wilks responded sharply, choosing his moment perfectly, "My Gears cannot protect you from the Lambent without a way to take them down. Give me unrestricted access to your ammo cache and we are at your disposal."

"You are not in a position to argue COG," he spat.

"And neither are you it seems,"

Burn turned to him and clenched his fists, deliberating his options. He glanced back at the carnage in the harbour.

"You're a bastard, have the ammo but if you don't fix this you're out, the lot of you,"

"Of course," he nodded at the Stranded Leader, "Aidie you heard the man, go get us some ammo so we can sort out that other Stalk."

She gave him a half serious smirk as she fled towards the direction of the ammunition cache.


	2. Chapter 2 - From Nightmares

**Authors Note.**

Apologies it has been a tad late releasing this next chapter, my proof reader kind of forgot his purpose for the best part of a few months.

Been struggling a lot with procrastination, which has not helped either. Anyway. Chapter Two and I promise the other chapters will follow shortly.

Please read and enjoy, and review, nothing I love more than discussing the world of Gears.

* * *

 **Chapter Two - From Nightmares**

* * *

As the sun reached its highest point in the sky the smouldering embers of the harbour bubbled and hissed as it sank into the ocean below it. The body count had risen to twelve and the burn injuries were numerous. The Lambent Stalk now spent of its cargo had withered and hung lifeless, like an eradicated weed not ready to succumb to defeat. Within hours two more Stalks had risen from the shallows along the coast line, their pods pulsing ready to burst. The inevitable emergence hung over them like a ticking clock.

Miles slipped momentarily on the muddy wet charred ground, landing awkwardly on his rear before he could stop himself. He let out a curse as he slid down the bank towards the water. A civilian reached out to assist him, gripping his hand as he scrambled out of the mud slide.

"This is just ridiculous," he wiped the worst of the mud off his rear and sought out his Sergeant, "Ol, we can't keep doing this."

A patch of Wilks' hair had been singed slightly from the night of tackling the flames. Even his armour looked like it had been charred. He rubbed at his forehead, smearing charcoal over his face as he did so. At Miles' voice he tiredly turned to him.

"Do you have any other suggestions then?" He asked.

"Why are we just waiting for those pods to burst when we could just blow it to hell now,"

"True," Wilks dunked his hands in a bucket of already grubby water to wash the worst of the dirt from him, then wiped his face with a rag, "But are we ready to face whatever comes from those pods?"

"Polyps Olly, loads of the bastards. We blow the pod to pieces now and destroy them before they have a chance to take us unaware again,"

"You think we haven't already tried that Miles?" He pointed to the inactive Stalk in the harbour, "we spent half the night shooting at the pods on that bastard and the bullets didn't even make a bloody dent. What makes you think those will be any different?"

Miles clenched his jaw and ground his teeth, frustrated that he couldn't do more to stop the attacking Lambent. He stared out at the nearest Stalk watching it twist and weave against the constant splashing of the waves. He could almost hear it groaning and creaking as its pod pulsed like a heartbeat.

"I can't stand feeling so helpless against it," he grumbled "I need some kind of control back."

"You and me both,"

The pair silenced as one of midwives approached the scene, stopping momentarily to take it all in.

"Can I help you?" Wilks asked flicking the remnant of water from his hands as she took him in.

"Excuse me Sergeant I'm looking for Private Farr," she nervously responded, her eyes hesitating over his scars, "It's his girlfriend. She's gone into labour and is asking for him."

"Of course," Wilks glanced around at the flurry of people around the harbour in the hunt for his Gear, "Tate!"

"I would have thought she could have done this one unassisted, considering she's already had about a Thrashball team's worth already," Miles commented wryly.

The midwife gave him an unimpressed look, "every life is precious. I don't see you helping out at any point."

"Believe me no one wants this DNA passed on, it's way too damaged. Might even be Locust at this rate,"

"Or Lambent," Wilks sent a dig as he watched Tate approach them.

"You're both a disgrace to your species, the human race is near extinction and what are you doing about it?" the midwife sneered, "This man is a credit."

"Is it time?" Tate asked her, an excited fatherly expression on his face.

"She's been asking for you, it won't be long now,"

He beamed sending Wilks and Miles a goofy smile, "I'm going to be a daddy again."

Aidie who had been shifting sandbags with Cam, placed the final one down and plodded back to catch up with Tate before he departed. Her face smeared in soot, every part of her caked in some kind of filth involved with clean up.

"Give it a normal name Tate," she called to him.

The midwife took in Aidie's appearance and tutted loudly at her, "the battlefield is not made for women. We have plenty of fine specimens who would be happy pass on their strong gene line to your offspring. You should come and see us sometime."

She then led Tate away towards his oncoming juggle of responsibility

Aidie frowned at her and glanced back at the others, "Is she for real?"

"Apparently so," Wilks commented dryly.

"Breeders," Miles sniped, "Who'd have 'em."

"It's a good thing Tate and Sofie have offered to repopulate the entire planet then," Wilks grabbed the bucket and carried it down to the waterline where he washed it out, refilled it and carried it back up to them. They watched him curiously as he approached them, placed the bucket on the floor and flicked his fingers in a come here motion. Aidie took the bait first and stepped towards him as he stood patiently waiting, one eyebrow raised, watching her. Then quicker than she realised he was capable, he picked up the bucket and threw the contents at her. She let out a yelp and leapt backwards from him, completely soaked.

"Bastard!" she cursed, "what the hell did you do that for?"

"Go get showered, you're filthy," he sent her a look.

"You didn't have to throw the bucket over me to get the point across, I'd have gone willingly," she admonished.

"Have some sleep whilst you're at it, you've already had a long enough shift,"

As they watched her trudge away cursing him Miles turned to his Sergeant.

"You throw a bucket over me and I'll punch you,"

"Wasn't even going to attempt it,"

"I see you're still pushing her away,"

"She sleeps next to me every night, Miles. It's killing me that I can't be anything more than her Sergeant. This is the only way I can keep her at an arm's length,"

"Well you better think of something more inventive because you're running out of excuses, and buckets," Miles chuckled.

"Don't I know it,"

* * *

Wilks spent the rest of the day watching the Stalks carefully whilst he sent Cam and Miles to shuffle the civilians to a safer location away from the water's edge. He then sent them off to rest so they could relieve him when his shift ended.

The bell tower had always been the best location to watch the Stranded Village as a whole. Now with several Stalks looming in the distance Wilks needed the best vantage point possible to work out his next plan of action. He sat watching as another Stalk erupted from the sea, no pod this time, it twisted and groaned, reaching out as if the vines were searching for land. He had started taking notes the moment each one had started moving differently. It was like the Stalks were alive, the way they moved against the ocean and swayed towards the land.

The sun was setting by the time Cam returned for his shift, the skyline was filled with a deep red. The civilians had often talked about the foreboding significance of a red sky, they said it meant that blood would be shed that night. It wasn't that Wilks believed them but the movement of the Stalks unsettled him enough to keep around and continue to monitor them whilst Cam remained on shift.

"Yer an idiot," Cam cussed watching him from the opposite side of the bell tower, "yer doing my job."

Wilks looked up from the notebook to take in his second in command then back at the Stalks.

"Don't let me stop you from doing your usual duties Cam, I'm just monitoring the Stalks,"

"Yer know I can do that, right?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, but we were caught out last night. I'm not going to risk it again,"

"One man can't stop the end of Sera,"

"No but I can certainly try to shed some light on what we're dealing with,"

Cam tapped his pistol thoughtfully against his palm like he did so often these days. He was a mature man with a history as dark as it was controversial. Originating from the Islands he was a shorter build than most Ephyrian Nationals but this had never seemed to concern him.

Trained as a Plastic Surgeon, Cam had encountered Ollyvar's father whilst treating his severe leg burns. Colonel Richard Wilks enticed him into the COG as he regaled him with stories of heroes and villains until he was suitably brainwashed. Cam remained with him through the darkest of days. He witnessed the birth of Wilks' only son and watched helplessly as the child's mother was torn away from him. Cam kept many secrets for his Colonel and even now since his death there were things he would keep to himself until the day came that he too would meet the earth in acceptance.

Cam sat and watched the only son of his former squad Leader. Olly had grown to look so much like the mother he had never known, dark attractive features now marred with the scars that had changed his life. A son birthed into Sera to serve a higher purpose as a saving grace for his father's questionable actions. A tiny child meant as a bargaining chip. An exchange for indoctrination into the COG's programme until he was able to hold a weapon and think like the Gear in the machine he was bred to be. But Ollyvar was very much his mother's son, challenging the choices his father made, rejecting the conformity that was expected of him. A rebel in heart and soul.

Which explained why this man was able to love so unconditionally when he had never experienced pure affection himself. Ollyvar was often able to defy what was expected of him. Not only had he been instrumental in getting a group of youngsters to Jacinto alone but he had also won over the loyalty and affections of the woman who would follow him to the end of Sera.

So different from his father in so many ways.

"Do you think I'm losing it, Cam?" He asked quietly, tapping the notebook with his pen.

Cam and Ollyvar had always viewed their relationship as an unwanted foster father type role, Cam expressed the emotions his father had reserved from view. They were honest with one another and despite their unspoken history trusted each other deeply. Even the day Wilks had been ripped apart by a Wretch Cam had felt his soul tear from him as he desperately worked to patch him up using the skills he had gained as a plastic surgeon. He felt helpless as he witnessed his old friend and Colonel turn the Gnasher on himself to blow his brains out. 'Forgive me' he'd said, Cam had still felt bitterness.

"I think yer taking too much on yerself kid," he responded, "We're a team remember, what use am I if I can't help yer?"

"I'm watching Stalks, I could be resting but I'm watching Stalks. What does that say about me?"

"Aside from hiding from yer actual responsibilities, I'd say yer were taking yer duties as a leader seriously,"

"I don't think I would ever forgive myself if we lost more people to these Stalks,"

"As long as yer know what yer doing,"

"Do I ever?"

Cam let out a sigh, "I'll go for a patrol through the streets then. Do a perimeter check and see if Archer an' his lot have anything to report."

"Sounds like an idea,"

Wilks watched as Cam descended the stone steps and made his way down the darkened streets, pausing midway to light a cigarette, his hand cupped over his mouth as he held the lit match to the end. Wilks had always wondered how Cam had managed to get his hands on such rare commodities, but then Cam had always played well to people so he had usually gotten what he wanted.

He returned to his Stalk watching, making notes each time the vines would sway in the air against the flow of the winds. As the streets darkened the Stranded emerged to light the Imulsion lamps to fill the dark paths and alleys with an eerie glow. He observed the flame flicker and dance before leaning slightly towards the direction of the coastline and the Stalks. Maybe his eyes were playing with him but he thought the Stalks were swaying towards the lights as well. He jotted his insane assumptions on the notebook and continued to watch.

* * *

Darkness eddied suffocatingly around him. Panic squeezed at his insides as the demons echoed inside his head. He swung himself round, desperately seeking his fears within the obscurity. Just blackness, a deep dark ebony ghoul that rippled and played with his mind. It kissed and nibbled at his extremities, swirling and twirling around every inch of his body until he felt it merge into him. He fought against it, swimming against the tide, except his limbs were heavy and immobile. Every move drew him deeper and deeper into the abyss, as the monster consumed him from within. Then, a light. An ominous glow that glided along the horizon and edged ever closer. He felt himself fighting the darkness, urging himself out into the light as his mental shackles fought to keep him in place. The glow pulsated temptingly, teasing as it pooled around his legs, slithering up his thighs to his waist. Terror surged through him as it fused into his body. An excruciating pain burned through him as the Lambent light churned into him combining with the monster inside, devouring the human as it grew stronger. As it reached his brain he was aware of his body altering around him. His legs snapped and cracked to reform into a different shape, he tried to scream in agony except now Imulsion dripped and poured from his lips each time he opened his mouth. His eye bulged, throbbing from his eye socket until the pressure behind it forced it out of his skull with a pop. His fingers bent and crippled as his nails elongated into talons. His spine burst from his back as it warped him over into a hideous creature. He let out a screech as his last agonising human feeling seeped out before the Lambent light ate the final part of his brain.

Wilks woke up screaming, jolting himself upright. His heart beat so rapidly inside him he thought it was going to explode. Two hands placed firmly on his arms and a voiced soothed back at him.

"It was just a dream Olly," it said, "you're okay. I'm here."

It took a while for the haziness to clear and his heart rate to slow, as it did his vision focussed on Aidie who had been sitting beside him. One of the few people who knew how to deal with his numerous nightmares.

"A dream," he tried to repeat to himself, "it was a dream."

It had been the most vivid dream he had ever encountered.

"Are you okay? You kept screaming but I couldn't wake you." She told him a concerned look on her face as he wiped at the sweat soaking him.

"I fell asleep," he felt annoyed with himself for succumbing to his exhaustion and subjecting himself to the nightmares again. It had taken a long time to fight the Wretch dreams away and now they had replaced themselves with something more horrifying. Worse still he was putting Aidie through it all again.

As his consciousness was able to take control he realised that he had not been able to continue his note taking. He quickly scrabbled for the note book to see that two other people had been writing further notes in it. He looked back at Aidie with a frown.

"Cam told me to keep making notes of the Stalks, he said it was important to you," she explained.

He flicked through the pages to see that Cam had clearly taken over when Wilks had fallen asleep and Aidie's handwriting had continued once she had started her shift.

"Stalk watching is boring Wilks, no wonder you fell asleep,"

He was filled with an immense amount of affection for his squad, despite his insane hunches they had still supported him when he was unable to continue.

"Anyway Cam pointed out that you were onto something, so we took particular note of the lamp light and the reactions the stalk had to it,"

As he read the notes he could see that Aidie and Cam had been experimenting with the light suggesting that the Imulsion somehow was directly affecting the Stalks. His nightmare now a distinct reminder as to how terrifying the consequences could possibly be.

"Come see this," she elaborated as she hoisted herself to her feet and offered a hand out to him.

He followed her through the streets, watching as she unhooked a lamp from its perch and carried it down to the waterside. The flame fought against its restraints inside the glass container reaching out towards the Stalk. Then ever so slowly the Stalk started to move, twisting in its place as its vines crept closer towards them. The pod started undulating like a heartbeat rapidly increasing, it began to glow and swell.

"Shit," Wilks exclaimed and swiped the lamp from Aidie's hand letting it smash to the ground, extinguishing the light and letting the Imulsion pour into the dirt.

They watched as the Imulsion started trickling towards the water, it snaked across the ripples making its way towards the Stalk. As it reached the Stalk it merged with the structure and it started to grow again.

"Did you jus..." Aidie mumbled in confusion.

"Remind you of anything?" He glanced down at her as she frowned back.

"You mean the cave?"

"That's exactly what I mean,"

"But Wilks that was years ago,"

"But the Imulsion moved Aide, remember even then,"

"But that means..." she searched his face for answers, "the glowing Wretches, those Locust... They were all infected."

"This isn't Locust Aide, this is something completely different. And it's a lot more powerful than what we have ever encountered."

The pod had swollen to double its size now, they could see whatever was in it was moving and writhing against its sac pushing at the membrane.

"Aidie," Wilks breathed a warning.

"Yes?" she could sense his tension.

"You need to run, get the others now," he unsheathed his Lancer from its sling.

She took a few steps backwards as she witnessed the pod tear open spurting forth Imulsion and with it a hundred Polyps birthed themselves into the sea.


	3. Chapter 3 - Losing Control

**Author's Note -**

I'd like to thanks those that have read these couple of chapters, you're quiet but I know you're out there. Anyway, I am continuing on with pushing these chapters out, as I have already written to chapter sixteen and hoping that I can keep my proof reader readily motivated and Game of Thrones doesn't get in the way. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter Three - Losing Control**

* * *

Within minutes the Polyps broke the surface of the ocean and started skating rapidly across the water towards the harbour. Wilks took his stance, feet firmly planted Lancer in hand. He had to keep the Polyps away from the village, they couldn't suffer another mass loss after the previous night. At least this time he was ready for them.

He started firing whilst they were close together in the hope that one explosion might trigger the others off. After a couple of successful hits the Polyps had learnt to dodge and scatter quickly, their spindly legs swiping easily back and forth across the water. They were approaching him faster than he was able to keep back.

A second volley of gunfire nearby sent the Polyps off course momentarily, enough for Wilks to glance back at Burn. Behind him he had gathered a group of men assembling themselves with their weapons.

"Your female Gear alerted us, she told us you could do with as much help as possible, rightly so,"

"Thank you," he called back, mentally praising Aidie's initiative.

One of Burn's men rushed towards the Polyps with his own handmade sawn-off shotgun, he charged headfirst as he fired a round at the glowing creatures. They exploded around him throwing him to the ground at the force of their explosion. Before he could scramble to his feet more Polyps crawled over him, dragging him deeper into the mass of writhing glowing bodies. They watched in horror as the Polyps ripped him apart, sucking at the flesh and blood of their first meal.

"Shit!" Burn screamed out.

A shout came behind them and they turned to reveal Miles swinging a makeshift grenade on its chain. He had lit an Imulsion soaked strip of cloth and had wrapped it round the grenade. It glided overhead and landed amidst the Polyps, the flame igniting the surrounding mass of Polyps as they exploded with the grenade blast.

As if this was a trigger another pod from a Stalk to the left of them suddenly burst open, freeing a horde of wriggling Imulsion soaked Polyps. Screeching and scrabbling for freedom.

"Keep your distance," Wilks called to his assembled squad, "they explode."

"Suits me down to the ground!" Miles had lined a whole row of grenades, he fixed them up with a strip of cloth soaked in a bucket of Imulsion. He ripped the cloth into strips and tied each one around the grenade chain. He rushed over passing each person one of his grenades lighting the strip as he went.

Wilks threw the grenade into the oncoming collection of Polyps and watched as they burst into flames. He glanced back at Miles and gave him an approving nod.

"It's a prototype, I'm working to assemble it to an Imulsion can next,"

"Keep doing what you do Miles,"

Tate had joined them, Lancer in hand as he flanked to the left to take on the next group of Polyps. He picked off one or two but they were descending upon him at an alarming rate. Burn's men were helping him out, driving the Polyps into a tighter group as one of them threw another of Miles' flaming grenades at them.

Cam and Aidie arrived with two Scorchers taken from Burn's weapon cache. They split either side of the group of the Polyps and started burning them at the edges, forcing them to funnel towards Wilks' waiting shots. One of the creatures broke free and leapt at Wilks, he jumped backwards to lift his Lancer up and rev the chainsaw, searing through the Polyp just as it burst open with Imulsion all over him.

Miles approached with another flaming grenade just as Aidie shouted out to him, one arm held out to stop him.

"Keep away from Wilks!"

"Why?" Miles stepped backwards hesitantly.

"He's flammable," she explained, "Covered in Imulsion. So keep your distance."

Miles skirted around their Sergeant as he continued firing at the never ending flood of Polyps. He swung his homemade grenade into them and watched as a mass of flaming writhing creatures charged towards them. Aidie pulled out her Gorgon and fired at them to help finish them off.

Wilks was too busy firing to realise that the Polyps had gone on a flaming charge towards him. Burn and Archer started shooting before they could take Wilks down. He moved backwards as they stepped in, just in time for Aidie to grab hold of him and shove him in the direction of the harbour.

"Hey!" he retorted.

"I am not having you as a human torch," she ordered, dragging him backwards by his weapon sling.

"We need to keep the Polyps away from the houses," he shouted his orders to the others.

"And they're doing a great job, now we work on you," she had reached the harbour wall, "In the water, now."

"Wait wait wait!" he dug his heels in.

"Wilks damnit!" she circled round him to face him, her face streaked with a smoky residue, "those Polyps will kill you if they charge at you when they are alight."

"Water won't wash the Imulsion off Aide,"

"No but it'll bloody help," she took hold of his Lancer and pointed to the water.

Reluctantly he obeyed, jumping off the wall into the water. She watched as the oily residue shifted slightly off him, floating ominously on the surface.

"Happy?" he asked ready to wade his way back to dry land.

"Nope, you need to go under, you're still covered,"

"Damnit Aidie, I'm in full armour here!"

"Wilks the Imulsion moved remember, I am not risking it going to town on you,"

A shudder etched its way up his back as he was eerily reminded of the nightmare. He wasted no time submerging himself completely in the water. He remained in the depths for longer than he was comfortable with to ensure that the Imulsion was no longer soaking into him. He came to the surface in time to see Aidie take down two flaming Polyps with her Gorgon. It had originally been his but she had taken to it a lot easier than the Boltok and he didn't have the heart to claim it back. She took cover just as the creatures exploded. He waded his way back and hoisted himself onto the harbour wall, water weighing his armour and clothes down. He could see the Imulsion ripple on the surface.

"Happy now?" he called to her as he picked up his Lancer.

"Much," she responded as she turned the Scorcher on another group of Polyps skittering towards them, "at least I can go near you with this without the risk of setting fire to you."

He fired at the Polyps taking each one down before they could advance closer. Every step he took his boots made a squelching sound and water seeped its way over the rim.

"Oh that's just perfect. There is nothing worse than wet feet," he then called over to her, "if this is about the bucket incident, Aide, next time I'm throwing you in the frigging sea."

"You try and I'll hurt you so bad you'll be adopting all your children from Tate,"

"Hey I heard that!" Tate shouted nearby, he had moved closer as the Polyps had drifted across towards them.

Wilks unbuckled the straps on his boots and pulled his socks off, scowling at them as he chucked his boots to one side. He hated being barefoot, it was something he was unused to as the soles of his feet had rarely touched the ground without heavy COG issue boots underneath.

He was too busy grumbling about his feet that he missed the Polyp that charged towards him.

"Watch out!" Aidie called, blasting the Polyp just before it reached him, bursting Imulsion over him.

"Oh you have to be fucking kidding me!" He shouted in frustration.

"In!" She ordered pointing blindly to the water as she concentrated on the Polyps.

"I hate you sometimes," he cursed as he leapt back into the sea.

* * *

By the time all the Polyps had been mown down daylight had broken and the civilians were venturing out of their shanty houses to assess the aftermath of the battle.

Wilks had stepped back from duty so he could get himself a much needed warm shower, one that preferably didn't leave his skin with a salty residue. He counted himself lucky that Burn had the foresight to store rainwater and treat it to make it drinkable for his community. The showers had been installed with a solar heating system that granted them the luxury of a washing in warm water whenever they needed.

His palms pressed up against the cracked tiled walls, letting the water batter against his uplifted face, his dark hair plastering against his head.

"Sarge?" a voice came from outside the cubicle.

"I swear to the Allfathers Tate, if the next words out of your mouth is another Pod has opened, someone is going to regret being the messenger very quickly,"

"Uh... no," Tate responded hesitantly, he and Wilks had grown up together through their youth training camps so he knew how to tread carefully round him when he was at his most volatile.

Wilks reluctantly twisted the taps off and grabbed the towel he had hung over the cubicle door. He rubbed the excess water off before wrapping the towel round his waist.

"Come on then Tate, spill, you know you want to," he said as he swung the wobbly cubicle door open.

He took in his friend and comrade, standing patiently in the changing room protectively holding a baby in his arms. It didn't seem so long ago that he and Tate had gotten so blindingly drunk on moonshine that neither were able to perform their duties the following day. Wilks' father was so angry that he'd beaten them and they had to hide the bruises for days afterwards. Now that foolish accident prone kid was a father, not to one but to four young children. A tiny wave of jealousy hit him in his heart. He seriously doubted he would ever experience parenthood himself.

"Olly I'd like you to meet my son, Aidan," Tate announced with pride.

"You have to be kidding me. Tate, please tell me you didn't seriously name your son Aidan."

Tate fixed him with a look of shock before smirking back at him, "you seriously think I'm that stupid? The one child I get to name and it's the person Sofie hates the most."

"I was having my doubts," Wilks turned away to pull on a clean dry t-shirt over his head, thrusting his arms through the holes and rolling the fabric over his chest and down his stomach. The remnant of dampness made the fabric stick to him more than usual.

"She would have killed me before I'd even have the chance to lay my eyes on my child," It was Tate's turn to avert his eyes as Wilks pulled on a pair of boxers, letting the towel drop around his feet. He then took hold of his trousers and heaved them over his legs.

"So does the child have a name that is remotely human?" He rubbed a hand through his hair to shake off the excess water from the strands.

"He does, we have decided to call him Tyrus," Tate finally offered the baby to Wilks, "Tyrus meet your Uncle Olly."

"So you named him after a Country, kudos on the originality there, it's not like half these other kids aren't already called Jacinto or Pelles,"

"I dunno, I thought Tyrus was a strong male name, plus if he ever asks us about it when he's older we can explain it further to him."

Wilks took the child gently in his arms as the baby gazed blankly back at him.

"And to think this could have been you," Tate commented innocently, watching his child.

"I'm not sure if I want to know the meaning behind that Tate, remember carefully I am holding the life of your newborn offspring in my rather tired arms," Wilks sent him a warning.

"I just mean Sofie," Tate added nonchalantly, oblivious to the hurt he was causing, "if it wasn't for that Wretch we both know that she would have picked you instead of me and you would be the one standing where I am right now. Rather than..."

"Rather than what Tate? I dare you to continue," Wilks' words came out sharp enough to make the baby open his eyes in shock, "let me finish for you. Rather than the position I am in now, sharing a bed with the one woman I am totally crazy about but can't show how I really feel. Is that what you wanted to say?"

Tate stared silently back at him, his eyes flicking from his son to Wilks, "We could share Sofie, if you wanted a family so badly. I'm sure she wouldn't mind giving you a son."

"Don't make me punch you Tate," He handed the child back to him and folded his towel over his arms.

"There's something else," Tate continued following Wilks out of the room and down a long corridor till they were out in the open. Overlooking the Stranded Village from a slight incline.

"Careful how you step Tate, you're already on thin ice,"

"It's Sofie," Tate began, "We've been talking and now that we have little Tyrus to think about we need to consider the future."

"You'll be the only one," Wilks sniped sharply.

"She thinks it would be cruel if the children grew up not knowing their father. She thinks I have spent too much of my life thinking about war when we should be protecting our offspring. She's asked me to hand in my tags and renounce my status as a COG soldier so I can concentrate being a father."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"We all know that the COG are basically over anyway, we are working here on no one else's orders except yours. It's about time I think about my family."

"You have to be kidding me,"

"I nearly died the last time I was in combat and it was shake up for both of us,"

"Tate, you were shot in the fucking thigh over two years ago,"

"But I nearly died,"

Wilks balled his fists, his world was starting to collapse around him.

"You think it was easy for me to carry on after the Wretch ripped me apart Tate, after my father blew his brains out. I nearly threw it away, if I hadn't taken that Raven to that Compound I was a step away from walking out. But then I was given a reason to keep going."

"Oh give it a break Olly," Tate snapped uncharacteristically back, "every time it's always the Wretch with you. Oh boohoo, so the Locust took away your rugged good looks, so the women stopped looking at you except to point and sneer. Get over yourself. Fucking hero."

Wilks saw red. But Tate continued, for the first time lashing out at the one person he was usually able to confide in.

"Do you use the Wretch as an excuse when you can't get it up for Aidan as well. Is that why you're so frustrated these days. Aren't you getting sick of hiding behind that fucking Wretch? Can't you just be a man and take her like you would have done before that Wretch took your balls."

Tate had gone past the point of no return he had touched a nerve so raw that Wilks shook with anger. He took a couple of steps backwards and stopped a passing civilian, placing a hand on her arm.

"Can you just hold this a second," he said as he plucked the baby from Tate's arms and handed him over to the woman who looked back at him curiously.

He then took two steps forward, swung his arm back and right hooked Tate hard in the face, a cracking sound came from Tate's nose as he yowled in response. The civilian screamed stepping backwards protectively holding the child. Blood seeped out of Tate's nose as he lunged back at him, Wilks ducked out of the way as he ploughed towards him. A fist caught Wilks in the side sending a crippling spasm through his kidneys. He let out a cry and dropped to his knee to protect his body. He looked up at Tate who stared angrily back at him, he spat out blood and charged at him whilst he was at his most vulnerable. Wilks lowered his head and gripped Tate round his waist flipping him over and slamming him onto his back.

"Stop it! Stop it!" the woman screamed.

They had scuffled before, many years ago but it had never truly meant anything other than juvenile rough housing. But as Tate scrammed Wilks down the side of the face where his own existing scars lay, nothing but intended hatred and pain seemed to pass between them. Wilks leapt back clutching the side of his face. Tate jumped at him, pummelling him to the ground and punching him repetitively in the face. Wilks caught his fist mid punch and twisted his arm till Tate was screeching back at him. Wilks had always been the more sturdier built of the two, his muscles were toned and harder whilst Tate's had softened by his embraced parenthood. Wilks could easily have wrapped his hands around Tate's neck and finished the job, but this was about pain, no one was about to have their suffering end any time soon.

"If you think you can protect your family from the monsters like this then you're weaker than I ever gave you credit," Wilks hissed at him, roughly releasing Tate's arm.

"Just because you were too much a of coward to do it yourself," Tate panted as he leapt away from him, "You're too much like your old man, I never realised. A bully and a dumb minded brute."

"You think walking away will solve your problems Tate, you think Sofie hasn't already worked out how to twist you round her finger. Your children don't even look like you,"

"You bastard," Tate screamed at him now, "you fucking bastard! It's over. You, me, we're done. I asked you as a courtesy. You have no fucking say in this Ollyvar. I'm not having you walking me willingly into a mass of flaming monsters when I could be happy with my family."

"You think this war is fucking over? You think if you quit the monsters go away? Get over yourself Tate. Because guess what, when we lose this war, and we _are_ losing, those creatures will be knocking on your precious door next. When that happens I won't be there to protect you,"

"Go to hell Ollyvar. It's over," Tate howled as he reclaimed his screaming child from the woman and stormed away from him.

* * *

Aidie had been busy scrubbing down Wilks' armour, eliminating the remnant of greasy substance from the plates. She propped and draped the parts across the washing lines outside their shack in hope of catching the sun to dry it out. She had felt guilty for Wilks' impromptu salt water baths which had done nothing for his simmering temper. But she had seen too much freaky moving Imulsion to allow him to keep soaked in the stuff, especially when the flaming Polyps had started charging towards him.

She had taken over once the Polyps had been vanquished and Wilks had stormed away, passing the information she had gathered to Cam and Miles. She had reluctantly debriefed Burn of the situation and requested that the squad be granted some down time.

Crates clattered to the ground nearby, followed by cursing. She cautiously turned to see Wilks stalking fiercely towards her. She knew enough of his temperament to know when to keep her distance from him. There was a fire in his dark eyes and a storm was brewing deep inside. For a split second he gave her a look that made her feel uneasy. Then he glanced back at her with an expression of defeat, his face was bleeding from fresh scratches and bruises were starting to develop. She took a worried step forward.

"Wilks?" she cautiously met him, her fingers dancing over his wounds, "Are you okay?"

Firm hands drew them away as he shook his head before fixing her with an intense look.

"I'm fed up of pretending Aidan."

He placed a strong yet gentle hand on her cheek as she looked back confused at him. He drew her to him and kissed her. She hesitantly held back, unsure as to what was happening. His grip tightened around her as she felt her resistance falter and his kisses grew fiercer. He backed her into their room and he started to peal her vest over her head.

"Olly, we shouldn't…" she breathed uncertainly into him.

"I don't care," he growled huskily as he shut the door behind them and pushed her roughly to the bed.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Scientist

**Author's Note:** Hi all, so here we are, another chapter as promised. Still trying to post these on a regular basis, especially without my proof reader forgetting the events of the previous chapter, which happens regularly. No pressure but I want it completed before Gears 4 is released, what have I set myself up for. At least you have to won't worry about a long hiatus. I'm in it to the end, although I have reached a rather crucial chapter and my brain refuses to think, I'll overcome it I'm sure.

Also wanted to thank whoever reads this, I know it's a gamble reading an OC only fic but as I've spent several years obsessing about these characters I feel like their story needs telling, to whoever will read it.

Well here it is read and enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter Four - The Scientist**

* * *

The prisoners screamed and yowled, throwing themselves wildly against the bars of their containment as the Imulsion fumes wafted enticingly around them. To call them human would have been a stretch of the imagination, but somewhere amidst the warped bodies there was a striking resemblance to the former citizens of Sera.

He watched as one particular subject knelt to the ground and clutched at her head pulling at her long locks of hair, chunks of skin and hair tumbled to her feet. She gazed blankly at the strands in her warped hands and mewled pitifully. Her body now starting to display that all too familiar glow as she cooked and twisted from within. He knew the moment she had started losing her hair she was past the point of no return. Another case number with a different approach and still the same outcome.

He stepped over the cracked chasms as he made his way back to the laboratory. The prisoners screeching at his exit, their noise a deafening howl. He shut the door to the cells, blocking out the distinct reminder of his inevitable future and drawing the bolt to keep it hidden away. He made his way to the corner of the room where a human sized cage housed a woman curled up on the floor. He prised the gas mask from his face and placed it on the counter beside him, picking up a container of water and pouring it into a wooden ramekin. He dropped to his knees beside the cage and offered the ramekin through the bars. The woman warily unfurled herself to take in his offering. Her dark soulless eyes staring back at his hands, he could see her attempt to fight the monsters inside her head before she decided to accept the water from him. Her elongated fingers had withered as her skin had started clinging to the delicate bone. She raised the ramekin to her shrivelled lips he watched as the liquid poured out of the corners of her mouth onto the newspaper bedding he had laid out for her. She looked down at the pool of water then back at him, opening her mouth and letting out a barely audible cry.

He reached in and tried to take her bony hands in his, she leapt backwards against the bars as if his touch was alien to her.

"It's okay my love," he soothed to her in her own language. He could see some sort of recognition flicker in her dark eyes.

He stood back up and retrieved a wooden bowl with four ripe peaches tenderly rolling and kissing against each other. He took in their pungent sweetness as he held the bowl closer to his nose to inhale deeply. The smell rekindled lost memories that swarmed like ghosts around him.

He knelt down opposite the cage again holding up the bowl of fruit, she sniffed the air as the scent of peach tingled a memory somewhere in her brain.

"Look my love," he spoke quietly to her, "the peaches are growing. Like you always said they would."

He picked a peach up between his fingers and examined the hairy toughened outer skin, taking it to his lips he bit into it. The flesh was soft and juicy between his teeth as the syrup slipped down his chin. She watched him hungrily from inside her cage, fingers now clasped around the bars. As he wiped the excess away he offered her a fruit from the bowl. She snatched it from him and held it up to her nose before retreating to the corner of her cage and curling up in ball.

Reluctantly he sat and watched her, their interactions had become fewer as of late and her recognition was down to emotion and senses alone. But he refused to give up trying. There had to be a cure somewhere mixed up in his notes and theories that would bring her back from the brink. In the meanwhile he would continue trying all possibilities.

He made his way out of his laboratory up steep twisting stone steps into a long thin corridor, locking the entrance with a bolt and padlock to keep his test subjects secure. The corridor led into a large glasshouse where several peach trees grew along the path, each one marked with a symbol from his native long since destroyed country. One of the few things still growing amidst the wilderness around him. He would do everything in his power to ensure that they kept growing.

He took long strides towards the Grand Hall where a group of mercenaries had taken residence.

They called themselves The Nightmares and were a mixture of men young enough to be easily influenced by his cause yet old enough to make a difference. They loyally followed a leader who rarely revealed his identity to those around him. Identifiable by a cannibalised Locust skull mask worn over his face except when he addressed personal company. The group themselves wore their own unique version of their alter egos with rudimentary dismantling of COG and Locust armours. Their weapons were also a mismatched selection of horrifying apparatus. It was their brutality that had drawn them to the Professor's attention. A group of men with questionable methods who were willing to do whatever was asked of them without query was perfect for him. Their residence in his hall in return for protecting his little projects seemed so menial in comparison.

The men turned at his arrival, fifteen in total all dressed like a Locust Human cross-breed. The acknowledgement of his command was the only giveaway that they had previously been soldiers. Their leader nodded at him before approaching, lifting his skull mask to rest on top of his head to reveal his face. He was a young man with what once could have been described as attractive features. Now, however, one side of his face had become a melted mess. Where once cheeks had been now revealed the remains of a jaw line with teeth and bone. The Professor had never wanted to draw any further attention to it so instead wondered about its occurrence in silence.

"We need more subjects," he announced as he walked through the hall to the table at the end. He sat on a large wooden high backed chair, grabbed a peach from the bowl on the table and leant back to enjoy his precious fruit with his feet resting on the surface.

The leader approached him and sat on a chair nearby suspiciously eying up the peaches in the bowl, his tongue clicked between his teeth as he watched his employer.

"You have a preference on what you want in particular?" he asked, "Last time it was boys and we happily donated some of our younger members for your cause."

"I need girls, in particular young women of breeding age,"

"That's rather specific Professor,"

"I have rather specific needs," he watched the mercenary take in his group from a far, "besides the women are responding a lot slower to the Imulsion than the men."

"So you _have_ found a cure?"

"Don't get me wrong they're still turning Lambent, but at a much slower rate,"

Their conversation drew to a gradual halt as a woman entered the Hall, her heels clicking loudly on the slate floor. She slunk expertly across the room, so that all eyes would fix upon her. Hips swaying in elegant motion as she made her way towards the men at the head of the table. Hair a golden waterfall to her hips, eyes like deep emerald jewels as they transfixed themselves on her goal. They called her the Commander, jointly controlling the Nightmares through the mouthpiece of the Leader. He may have been the brawn but she was the brains and the reason that the Nightmares followed with an unrelenting loyalty.

She pulled out a chair and rested her long slender legs against the table for all to see.

"Gentlemen," her voice a throaty purr, she hooked her arms behind her head and leaned back in the chair, "care to update me."

"The Professor requires us to fetch him a new batch of subjects," the Leader responded, "females."

"Is that so?" she flicked a sly smile in the direction of their host.

"They seem to be responding to the treatment more,"

"Particularly those of breeding age," the Leader added.

She thoughtfully nodded her head, casting her eyes to her next in charge who had been eying her carefully.

"I know where we can find what you're looking for," she cleared her throat slightly after a pause, "there's a fishing village a few days walk from here, filled with plenty of what you're looking for."

"It's greatly appreciated Commander, I believe it'll help me get that one step closer to the cure."

A sound of cautious laughter sounded from the group as a young man made his way through the hall towards them. He was clad differently to the others in the room, although he had been one of them he shed his armour the moment he had discovered the Professor's cause. His dark skin pock marked with burns and bites, his hair shaved down to a stubble. Behind him attached to a leash skittered a human male who displayed all the obvious signs of turning Lambent. His face muzzled, his body withered and bony. His eyes cast its way around the room as he took in the humans around him. The men retreated slightly at his appearance.

"Mr Woods," The Professor acknowledged offering the man a peach from his bowl, "please, take a seat."

"Lem what did I tell you about bringing it in here?" The mercenary berated him only to receive a hand placed on his arm by his Commander in warning.

"He's still a human," Lem responded as he looped the leash around the chair leg and dropping a peach to the man's feet. He kicked it between his toes before picking it up, stroking the soft hairy skin and rubbing it against his muzzled cheek.

"You have news?" the Professor asked watching the semi Lambent man sit dog obedient beside Lem's seat. So far he was the only male subject that had not been swallowed completely by the Imulsion. He had surmised it had been down to his connection to the man fighting for a cure beside him. That in itself was a breakthrough.

"Not really Professor just more losses,"

Lem Woods had always known he was different from everyone else. Not content to become another Gear in the COG machine he had fled his home with the sole purpose of protecting the one human that still mattered to him. He had studied hard and learnt quick and was able to use his knowledge in the field, something that the Professor found got results. The Professor had picked up on it the moment they had met, that and the relationship Lem had with a young man suffering from severely advanced Rustlung. The same man who currently sat rubbing his face against a peach.

"How's he doing?" he indicated to the man on the floor.

"In the time that Angelo took his nap, I lost two subjects to Lambency," Lem explained, "still no further degradation than the last time we checked him over though."

"Interesting,"

"We should take it out and shoot it," the mercenary growled.

Lem gave him a look, "he's still the same person somewhere. I know I can bring him back to us."

"Lem how many times has it bitten you now? How long before it'll rip you apart whilst you sleep? We need to put it down before it has a chance to run amok and take us all down,"

"This is Angelo we're talking about," Lem snapped standing up from his seat in defence, "he's still the same kid you once helped all those years ago."

"No Lem, he _was_ that kid. He's Lambent now, there's no going back from there."

"When did you lose your humanity?"

The mercenary's eyes darkened as he took in the young man standing opposite him. He and Lem had a history that neither spoke much about. It was clear like everyone else on Sera they had gone through a lot in previous years. Despite that they had always supported one another because only they knew what they had been through. Even when Lem defected from the Nightmares to help assist in his scientific study they had reluctantly allowed him to follow the path. But now Lem's actions were threatening to put their own followers in danger, something they couldn't allow him to do.

"I lost it a long time ago Lem, you're only realising now,"

The Commander dropped to the floor and offered an open palm to Angelo, who sniffed her momentarily before heftily throwing himself into her arms. She smiled warmly, closing her eyes at this small taster of an emotional contact.

"He doesn't seem to be that much of a threat,"

"Well that's easy," Lem responded, cautiously watching the interaction between the pair, "he likes you."

"Look we could always cage Angelo at night if you prefer," the Professor interrupted, whatever personal angst they were going through it would have to wait, "he's too valuable to be destroyed just yet. He's the only male who's still holding back going completely Lambent. It's worth an investigation."

The leader scowled, pulling the Locust skull down over his face and retreated from the table to the men. Picking up a large Locust Cleaver and sliding it into the sheath on his back. He reloaded a double barrel Sawed-Off Shotgun and mockingly aimed it at Angelo's head who gazed pathetically back at him as he pretended to pull the trigger.

"We'll go get you some girls then shall we?" he snorted as he strode through the Hall snapping to gain the mercenaries attention.

The Commander let out a sigh as she ran a final hand through Angelo's hair, "he's going to fix you. Don't you forget that."

She rose to her feet and sent a partial smile to Lem before picking up a Torque Bow from the table and holstering it over her shoulder.

"Keep fighting for him kid," she said as she danced down the steps towards her men accepting a quiver full of bows for her weapon of choice.

The Professor watched as the mercenaries rallied themselves loudly together and followed their leaders out into the wilderness. It would take a while for them to return with his requested subjects but he knew they would return successful.

Lem let out a sigh at their exit, "Sometimes I wonder whether I chose the right side."

"You'd rather be out there with them?"

"No," Lem sadly glanced down at Angelo who curiously gazed back at him, "Angelo's condition was the only reason I made the choices I did. If it wasn't for him I would be on Vectes."

"At least we're trying to make a difference here,"

"At what cost though Professor? How many humans are we going to infect before we can make a difference?"

"You sound like Luicie, she would be the one giving me those kinds of speeches,"

Lem untied Angelo from the chair and tugged on the leash, "Is she the one in the cage downstairs?"

"For my sins,"

The Professor rose to his feet and followed Lem into the gardens where the afternoon sun shone brightly on them. Angelo grunted at them and lay down to take in the sun, Lem tied his leash to a railing so his friend could relax.

"Who is she?" Lem asked innocently as he leaned over a wall to gaze at the expanse of wilderness below them, "she must mean something to you if you are willing to sacrifice all these people to find a cure."

"Aren't you doing the same thing for your friend?"

"Angelo means so much there isn't anything I wouldn't do for him,"

The Professor watched Lem carefully, trying to work out Lem's motives. He was clearly a very emotional man with a loyalty to rival no other. He had seen Angelo bite and scram Lem during his darker days and Lem would just sit down and let his rage subside. There was a history between the two that surpassed friendship. Even now as Angelo's brain was being twisted and melted from within he still trusted everything Lem did for him.

"She's my daughter," he eventually confessed, "I lost my wife back when the Hammer Strikes destroyed Ostri. Our daughter was the only thing we cared enough about to save. We lived rough for so many years, hiding out in abandoned Imulsion Mines moving from place to place. We commandeered this building for many years and my beautiful Luicie set to fixing Sera by making it alive again. She grew those peach trees from seed. Kept telling me that it was proof that Sera could mend itself after all the destruction it had been through. Then the peaches started glowing and the trees started twisting into these horrific monstrosities. And then Luicie got sick. I chopped those monsters down and left them to rot, but somehow they are still living, whilst my little girl is wasting away. I would rip Sera to shreds to find a cure for her, even if it meant sacrificing a thousand people to find it."

"So we _are_ on the same page," there was a harshness in Lem's voice that not even the Professor had heard before.

Lem turned to look at Angelo who sat in the sun, legs spread eagle arms open wide and face angled upwards to the sun. His Lambent glow making his limbs look charcoal black. They could see the Imulsion churning through his veins.

"He is turning Former Mr Woods, you have to accept that, even though he has been slower to change, Lambency will take over in time,"

"Which is why we need to find the cure," Lem responded quietly, "I'm ready to fight for it, if he is."

"And what happens the day that he looks back at you and sees you only as a food source,"

"Maybe you should ask the same yourself Professor. I've seen Luicie glow just as much as Angelo,"

"I keep Luicie caged for our safety just as much as hers, maybe you should consider the same with him,"

Lem stared silently at Angelo, so many decisions played out in his head. Why did he end up where he was today? His friend had been a major deciding factor as to where he needed to be, but a part of him thought about his separated family from so many years ago. He hoped they were still out there.

A low rumble in the ground somewhere nearby made the pair glance at each other.

Angelo suddenly jolted himself alert, twitching slightly before he charged full pelt at them. He started yowling and screeching as he tugged on the end of his leash. Lem ran up to him to untie the knot.

"It's ok," he soothed.

Angelo blanked him out and continued lunging against his binding until he was free. With one sudden pull the leash snapped from Lem's hands and Angelo sprinted towards the wall.

"Angelo!" he cried out.

The ground was shaking now and the Professor had stepped back in case the freed semi human turned on them. Angelo had now scaled the wall and stood on the top, howling like a wild animal through his muzzle. Lem managed to grab hold of his leash again in time for him to see a huge stalk break through the ground miles below them and rise ominously into the sky.

"Shit!" he turned to gesture for the Professor to follow, "Professor you need to see this!"

The Professor hesitantly edged towards the wall and gazed down at the Stalk in all its glory. They watched from their vantage point as another one broke through the landscape, its vines twisting in the air as if it was scenting out prey.

"What the hell is it?" Lem asked over Angelo's howls who had now been pulled down off the wall and had propped his hands against the top to peer over it.

They could hear the screams and wails from the Formers down in the Professor's locked dungeons.

"Whatever it is, I'm guessing it's Lambent and it's coming to find us."


	5. Chapter 5 - Consequences

**Author's Note:** So here I am dreadfully apologetic at my awful time keeping. How a month gone so quickly since I last posted I'll never know. Anyway, with motivation by my side and a stick to prod my proof reader, I am ready. And if you're very lucky I may even attempt to get another chapter out by the end of the month. No promises on that one.

* * *

 **Chapter Five - Consequences**

* * *

"What did you do?!" Aidie hollered at Tate's door as she rapped against the wooden slats.

Tate drew the door back to her to reveal his heavily bruised face, broken nose and his arm in a sling. His eyes flashed in anger at her and she took a step backwards in shock.

"What the hell happened Tate?" she asked him, less threatening this time, "the last time I saw, you were taking your son to show Wilks. And now look at you."

"He send you to finish me off or what?" he spat back angrily.

"Shit Tate, I'm not that person," she looked his injuries over, "have you reported this to Cam?"

Sofie pushed her way to the door with the baby in her arms attached to her breast. Her ebony black hair tumbled over her semi bare shoulders and tired eyes half lidded. She was a darkly attractive woman and having four children had clearly only increased her allure. She had never particularly liked Aidie, their current encounter was no exception.

"You!" fury fired up in her eyes, "you have some nerve to come here after what he did to my Tate in the presence of my baby."

If anything, age had taught Aidie to step back and take in the entire scene before jumping to conclusions. Wilks hadn't spoken about the encounter so she only had his injuries and his mood to go by, clearly Tate had come off worse. Chewing her bottom lip before deciding her next step.

"Okay, let me get Cam and we can run through this step by step,"

She left Tate and Sofie bickering on their doorstep as she approached Cam's regular haunt, a local bar supplied with moonshine strong enough to put hairs on anyone's chest. Cam sat in his usual spot with Miles, puffing on a cigarette. Miles meanwhile regaled the locals with stories of their adventures in an attempt to attract the pretty barmaid.

"Cam," she hesitantly interrupted them. She had never really been in a position where she had to act on Wilks' behalf before, generally Wilks played the mediator in her defence. She had never known him to lose his temper for anything but a just cause.

"You okay kid?" Miles caught her approach first despite only having eyes for the barmaid, instantly sensing something was amiss.

"Nothing I can't live with Miles," she brushed off his concern with a suppressed shudder, "Something's happened between Tate and Wilks and I think we need someone to take control of the situation."

Cam nodded thoughtfully, "Has Wilks okayed this?"

She shook her head, "I left him in bed. He's in no frame of mind to handle this the right way."

Miles and Cam glanced at each other momentarily before they took to their feet. They followed her to Tate's abode where Sofie stood outside with her hands on hips waiting for them. She ushered them inside where they took in Tate's injuries in the darkened hovel of a room that smelled like baby and sour breast milk.

"Aidie told us there was an encounter between you and Wilks, I need yer to report the details," Cam ordered as he unwrapped Tate's arm to assess the damage.

"Look it's nothing, Wilks and I just had a punch up okay," Tate hesitated to divulge the story further in front of Cam.

"In my newborn baby's presence Tate!" Sofie interjected angrily as she pushed to the front to be heard. Aidie and Miles kept back to listen.

"Actually in Wilks' defence he did give the baby to a passing civilian before he flung the first punch,"

"He gave my child to a stranger!" she parroted angrily.

"So he hit yer first?" Cam asked, as if he was mentally taking note of everything.

"Why?" Aidie quietly asked from the corner, they all turned to look at her, she shrugged, "Wilks wouldn't throw a punch without a reason, we all know that."

"He must have been jealous of our gorgeous child," Sofie announced, picking her baby up from his crib and sending Aidie a direct look.

"He was angry because I told him I was going to quit being a soldier so I could be a father instead,"

The three Gears stared back at him surprise, "you what?"

"I've nearly died too many times to want to risk that for the sake of my children. I need to be a father to them more than I need to be a Gear to you,"

"I'm guessing Wilks didn't take that too well either," Miles added.

Tate looked to his old friends in search of some kind of sympathy from them.

"He tried to do the pep talk with me, said about the time he nearly handed his tags in when the Wretch attacked," Tate looked shamefully to his hands, "I told him it was always the Wretch with him. It was always his answer to everything. That's when he punched me."

"Oh Tate," Aidie softly berated from the corner of the room, "you really don't understand how much that Wretch affected him. He lost everything."

"Oh we all know what the Wretch did to him. You know nothing about it Aidie so shut up," Tate snapped back at her, it was a reaction she was unused to from him.

"I know enough Tate," she responded taking a step forward in defence, "I met a man on the verge of ending it when he came to the Compound all those years ago. He was a wreck because he couldn't even bury his bastard father. So don't you even start with me about what I don't know."

"Should have known she would have taken his side," Sofie sneered at her.

"Which is why I am here," Cam added firmly from his seat, "Aidie go stand with Miles please."

She quietly retreated to her place beside Miles, who reached out a hand to squeeze hers back in support.

"So he punched you because yer hit a nerve with him, was there anything else?"

"I don't know, perhaps I inadvertently dropped that he could have been a father now if it wasn't for the Wretch. But in my defence I told him we could share Sofie if he wanted children that badly,"

Miles face palmed in the corner of the room.

Cam slowly nodded taking it all in, they all awaited his response in silence. Eventually he turned to Aidie.

"We're not gonna need Wilks to make a statement," he started, "Tate, yes Wilks threw the first punch and he was wrong to do so as yer Commanding Officer. However I get the feeling that yer also played a part in antagonising him. I will have words with him later and discuss an appropriate plan of action. That being said am I also to presume that yer request to quit the service still stands?"

Tate nodded solemnly to him as Sofie interjected.

"You mean you aren't going to strip him of his title or put him in the brig?"

Cam stared unblinking at her for a moment before turning back to Tate.

"Yer understand the deal in place for us here are as soldiers, nothing more. The terms Burn lay down to Wilks and myself were five Gears to protect the settlement in return for the safe housing of Jacinto's fragmented survivors. If yer hand in yer tags yer need to go to Burn and negotiate an agreement for yer family to live here."

"Could you at least come with me to put in a good word?"

"I'm afraid not. I act under Wilks' leadership Tate. If he forbade any interference then I cannot assist you. As a civilian yer must act independently. See it as the first step in yer life as a family man and fending for yourself."

Sofie gave Tate an exasperated look, thrusting the baby in his arms as she stormed off to see to her other children who had started to make restless noises in their room. Refusing to acknowledge the others as she left.

As Aidie and Miles opened the door ready to leave, Cam remained seated. Tate frowned at him in confusion as he placed the baby in his crib.

"I still need yer tags, armour and any service weapons yer might have in the property."

"How am I supposed to defend my family?"

"I suggest you attempt to claim one from Burn whilst you negotiate yer new living arrangements."

Reluctantly Tate handed over his armour and his cherished Lancer then eventually unhooked his tags from his neck and gave them to Cam. He looked sadly back at him.

"I wish there was another way, but I have to do this," he told him quietly.

"The sad thing, Tate, is that there was another way," Cam responded firmly and emotionless, "we were yer family. If yer were struggling all yer needed to do was to tell us. Even Wilks would have supported yer in that."

Tate led them to the door as he watched them carry his prized possessions away from him. Sofie stood quietly behind him, placing a comforting hand on his back.

"Good riddens,"

* * *

Wilks lay in a heavy silence, berating himself for allowing his temper to take over his self control. He had turned to the one person who would have understood the pain he was feeling and instead he had overpowered her. He had ignored every part of his conscience and took her how he wanted. She even willingly allowed him, despite her original protests. He hated himself.

Eventually deciding to get dressed he assessed the bruises over his naked body. A dark blossoming bruise had appeared over his ribs and a black eye had developed over the left side of his face. The scratches over his scars were raw and painful and yet for everything he had done, they didn't hurt enough.

When he finally finished dwelling on his mistakes he made the decision to report everything to Cam. He had a lot of explaining to do, not only to him but to her as well.

Cam was in his room disassembling Tate's Lancer.

"Cam?" he hesitantly knocked on his door and let himself in.

"Sit," Cam ordered without even looking at him.

"Where's Miles?" Wilks asked, he didn't particularly want anyone else to walk in whilst Cam was laying into him.

"I have him on shift with Aidie," Cam turned to Wilks and gave him a critical look. Ever since Wilks' father's death it had come down to Cam to reel in Wilks whenever he had crossed the line. Wilks had respected him for this. Which was why Cam was the first person he had now turned to, he was one of the few people who would give him an honest opinion of how much shit he had gotten himself into.

"I'm assuming you're aware of the Tate situation," he started.

"I am and looking at you it seems as if Tate ended up the worst out of yer encounter,"

"I'm sorry," Wilks dipped his head guiltily, "he just... got to me."

"He was an idiot Ollyvar, but we've always known that," Cam leaned against the wall opposite and stared at him, "yer should have known better than to have struck him in the presence of his own child. Despite what he said to you. You were his superior, yer father should have taught yer that."

"I'm sorry Cam,"

"I am willing to overlook yer stupid actions on the basis that you were suffering from exhaustion, and we all know that Tate never times his announcements well. He handed his tags in and relinquished his position in the squad. We've left it to him to negotiate with Burn to request citizenship. Consider the issue sorted," Cam paused a moment closely watching his young Sergeant for his next reaction, " Aidan however is another matter."

Wilks' stomach lurched nervously, "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing," Cam responded, keeping his emotions to himself, "But her body language spoke volumes. What the hell were yer thinking Ollyvar? You are her Sergeant, she trusted you."

"No one is berating myself more than me believe me," he admitted.

"Good, but whatever yer doing isn't enough," Wilks looked up to see Cam's disappointed face stare back at him, "she came to us an inexperienced kid. She relied on us to protect her. She isn't Sofie. I know you've had feelings for her for a long time now and I never doubted that those feelings were mutual. But you never let yer frustration out on the poor girl. I don't know what was worse, the fact that she never said anything when she clearly looked distraught or the fact that she defended you when Tate gave his statement."

Wilks put his head in his hands, "shit, shit ... _shit_."

"Indeed," Cam watched the young man on the verge of falling apart in front of him, "she came to me to act on yer behalf."

"What do I do Cam?" he looked back at him completely at a loss on his next steps, "should I go to her and apologise. How can I fix this?"

"Ideally if you and she were lovers I would suggest to let time heal and step away for a while. As her Sergeant you've done something that may well have affected her trust. These consequences you need to deal with head on. My suggestion is to go talk to her, say yer piece, then, despite whatever yer think, do what she wants. A loss of trust is something that may never be won back if yer push her. You took away the control she had and she's going to want that back somehow. I highly doubt she'll want to see much of you for a while, so keep her on shift with Miles until she's ready for the next step. Let her come to you. Remember at the end of the day, we're a squad and we have to be professional if we are going to survive."

Wilks nodded in agreement, "I am so sorry Cam. I just... I can't even excuse my actions."

"Ollyvar," Cam told him firmly as he looked guiltily back up at him, "yer went through every class needed to be a soldier and you excelled at it. They never taught yer how to be a decent human being, you needed to learn that along the way, mistakes and all. If she cares for you as much as I think she does she'll forgive you eventually. Now suck it up and be the man I know you to be."

* * *

"We need to talk," he quietly uttered behind her.

Aidie had been in her usual spot in the church tower, watching the Stalks and taking notes whilst Miles walked the perimeter. She pulled back from the sights on her Longshot and turned to look at him. He struggled to read the emotion in her eyes as she blinked back at him.

"Do you need anything Sergeant?" her voice was cold.

"I'd like for us to talk,"

"No, not now," she visibly shrank back from him turning her back to him in defence.

"Please don't do this to me Aidie," he stopped himself from reaching out to her, "we need to discuss about what happened."

"No we don't,"

"As your Sergeant I owe you an explanation,"

"No Wilks, we aren't doing this now," he couldn't help but notice the wobble in her voice, "I don't want to talk about it just yet."

He sighed, feeling his heart sink, "Look I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. You are the last person I would ever want to hurt."

"Get over yourself Wilks," she snapped suddenly with a sharpness he was unused to, "it was just sex. I'm a big girl and it's not like you and I haven't done it before. We've slept next to each other for about two years now. What were we expecting, that we were going to remain celibate for the rest of our lives?"

Wilks had seen this young Gear grow from an inexperienced teenager to the woman who stood before him now. He had guided and taught her every step of the way, but this was the first time he could honestly say he didn't know the girl in front of him.

"Aidan I..."

"Wilks," she warned, "I told you I wasn't ready to talk about it."

"I just..."

"Wilks," she approached him, eyes filled with hurt, and placed both of her hands firmly against his chest to push him away, "you were my best friend, my closest ally. What happened between us was something I had never planned or expected. I don't know where we stand anymore and it scares me. And the one person I could usually turn to talk to about it I cannot. This is something I need to process on my own now."

He nodded feeling his heart break inside, "Do you think we'll get through this?"

"I hope so," she moved a hand to the scars on his face and smiled slightly. She had been the only woman that had overlooked his scars and he had always loved her for it, which was why this was getting painful for him to endure, "it might be a good idea if we kept our distance from each other for a while."

"I'll see if I can negotiate with Burn to see if he can assist us on watches,"

As he turned to walk reluctantly away she called after him.

"Ollyvar," she rarely called him by his whole name, "I will always have your back. Regardless of what happens between us."

* * *

A week later Tate decided to scale the steps to the tower to make his announcement. He had kept his distance from the others mostly because he had been so busy trying to plead his case to Burn, who had opted to remain awkward. Now he was ready to seek out his old squad and give them the news.

As he reached the top he caught sight of Archer who had perched himself on the tower wall chatting away to his companion, whilst slugging on a carafe of moonshine. He searched around till he discovered Aidie lying on her back watching the stars and blocking out Archer's chatting.

"Can we help?" Archer asked protectively, pulling out his knife as if in threat.

Aidie tilted her head back to gaze upside down at him, "Archer it's Tate."

She rolled over onto her belly and shuffled so she could sit on her haunches.

"He's a civilian now, no need for him to be up here," Archer responded gruffly.

"Actually I only wanted a quick word with Aidie," Tate spoke quietly, finding himself already alienated from his old squad.

"Quick word away," Archer flicked his hand as if he meant very little to him.

Aidie sighed, she shook her head as she scrambled to her feet and plodded slowly over to Tate.

"You're gone less than a week and I've got that brute for company every night now," she exclaimed as she led him back down the steps to the streets below, "I miss you."

"I hear you and Olly aren't talking either," he commented, despite everything that had happened Tate had in fact missed his squad's companionship, although he would never have admitted it to them or Sofie.

She nodded, "we've got some things we're trying to work through."

"He's an idiot if he walks away from you,"

"Actually, it's me, I'm the one doing the walking," she admitted, "anyway, you wanted a word?"

"Yes I wanted to tell someone in case you guys were wondering where we were going." He looked relieved and excited, "we're taking the kids to be officially named at the sacred Allfathers birthing ground a couple of days walk from here. The midwives are leading a couple of other women who will birth their children there too."

"Sounds like riveting stuff Tate," Aidie couldn't hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"Not my personal choice either but Burn said I needed to embrace their civilian life and Sofie really wants the children to be honoured by the Allfathers so I thought this would be the biggest gesture. I kind of owe Sofie big time considering everything I've put her through lately,"

"You really do love that insane psycho,"

"I guess I was the lucky one that she fell for me,"

"Well you guys look after each other and I'll see you in a few days," she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him gently.7

* * *

The Nightmares tracked the small group of young women as they were led to the sacred grounds ready to bare their young. The Commander sent scouts to assess the scene and they opted to bide their time. They picked their victims and worked out their plan.

It would be easy pickings.

Slowly and silently they surrounded the grounds, the Commander took a step back allowing the Leader to take control. He drew his huge Cleaver from its sheath and lowered his Locust skull over his face. He dragged the blade in the dirt as he soundlessly loomed over the sleeping women. He stood in the centre of their victims' camp and let out a loud rallying cry as his group descended on the screaming women in unison.

The next thing Tate saw was a blade slicing towards him.


	6. Chapter 6 - Try Again

**Author's Note -** Surprise! I got my act together for a change. Also I really want to push ahead with this as I feel like I owe you one I missed from last month.

Well I suppose this chapter should come with a few warnings. Firstly it's quite a lengthy beast but you'll understand why when you read it. Secondly I should really warn those with a nervous disposition to read with care, there is a rather disturbing but necessary scene midway through.

So here it is, chapter six, enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter Six - Try Again**

* * *

The Lambent attacks had increased significantly as the days passed, with it the Polyps had learnt to adapt to the ever changing tactics of the humans attempting to keep them at bay. They had become stealthier at their approach and had stopped attacking en-masse. Now they had started to spread out amongst the buildings and catch their victims when they least expected it. The Stalk observation had paid off, they had learnt that the riper the Stalk the more the pod seemed translucent and the weaker it was to attack. Each time a pod looked ripe enough to drop its next load of Polyps the Gears would shoot it until it burst open, killing whatever was growing inside.

Living in the constant fear of attack had led to little sleep for those chosen to protect the inhabitants of the village. Burn and Wilks had devised a strategy to pair up the remaining Gears with a Stranded guard to spread the manpower further. Since the surge of attacks the relationship between Stranded and Gear had become an easier one. The more time they spent with one another the more they both realised they were all working together to protect the same thing.

Burn himself had opted to remain with an active interest in his security team, teaming up with Wilks to regularly assist walking the village. Wilks had just returned from taking out another fresh batch of pods, Burn stalking quietly beside him with a Gnasher slung over his shoulder.

The lack of sleep was something that Wilks had adjusted himself to now. His dreams frequently brought him horrific disfiguring nightmares anyway so he was relieved to avoid seeing it as much as possible. Although the long hours had brought a sudden drop in his personal appearance. His once clean shaved face was now sporting the beginnings of a beard, not that he particularly cared anymore but he welcomed anything that partly covered his scars.

Burn stopped in his steps to indicate there was movement in the shadows. The pair frequently worked in silence these days as they had worked out that Polyps had relatively good hearing. Plus neither had anything of interest to say that didn't involve throwing names around at each other.

Wilks held his hand up for Burn to remain in position as he crept towards the darkness with his back against the walls of the housing shacks. Something shifted slightly in the darkness making a scuttling sound. He lifted his Lancer and approached closer.

The creature was scrabbling at the door to the weaponry storage unit, trying to make a hole in the wood. Burn unhooked an Imulsion Lamp so they could get a closer look, the light flickered picking up the creature as it continued digging at the door. It was small with a rounded almost shell like back with two pincer like claws at the front and a set of teeth that could take your arm off. As the light caught the creature's attention it whirled round and hissed at them.

"No way," Wilks exclaimed taking a step back.

"Isn't that..." Burn started.

"... a Ticker? Yes." He took a step forward again to examine it, "But where are the explosives?"

The Ticker made a swipe for Wilks' Lancer with its claws, feeding the weapon into its mouth. Wilks pulled backwards as the Ticker wrestled with him for his gun pulling suddenly as it chomped down hard and swallowed it. Sending Wilks crashing to the floor on his knees. It let out a squeal of excitement before it scuttled away down the streets in the shadows.

Burn sent Wilks a look as he helped him to his feet.

"Well that was embarrassing," he grumbled as he dusted his knees down, "I just lost a really surreal game of Tug of War to a Ticker."

"We haven't seen the Locust around for months, where the hell did this one come from?" Burn wondered aloud as he searched the darkness for it.

"I don't understand though. It should have gone for the kill, I was disarmed and on the floor but it just fled,"

"It didn't look like any Ticker I've seen before,"

"It didn't really act like one either,"

"It's a Locust, so when we find it, do we kill it?" Burn asked him, it had been a long time since he hadn't known what to do about a possible threat to his village.

"I don't even know," Wilks grumbled, "but the bastard thing ate my gun and I'm getting it back if it's the last thing I do."

"Nice to have ambition," Burn commented dryly as he followed Wilks through the streets, "at least I have a clearer understanding as to why you COG were losing a war after twenty years."

Wilks stopped abruptly and looked back at the Stranded Leader, he knew Burn had had it rough. Cam had told him that ninety percent of his injuries had come from the resultant aftermath of the Hammer Strikes. Thus such the outrage towards Coalition troops. In hindsight the fact that Burn had accepted them into his village gave him an idea as to how desperate Burn had become. Everyone needed each other to survive in their own little ways.

Deciding it best not to respond to Burn's comment Wilks continued forwards. He took the lamp from his companion and scanned the darkness at each turn. Every so often they would stop to listen out for signs of the creature.

"Can you even call it a Ticker if it doesn't tick anymore?" Wilks asked at one point, Burn sent him a look and sighed.

They discovered that the Ticker had looped around and returned to the weapons cache, scratching away at the door again.

"If you get that Déjà Vous feeling please don't offer it another weapon,"

"It clearly isn't out to attack us, but seems to keep going after the weapons. Why is that?"

The pair watched in almost stunned silence as the Ticker prised a chunk from the corner of the door with its teeth and chomped into it.

"Should I shoot it?" Burn sounded confused.

"Well, unless you want a Ticker for a pet we're going to have to do something. As I'm almost certain that once it's finished helping itself to your weapons it'll be heading back home to its Locust buddies who will be tipping their glasses at their new accumulation of guns."

"Tipping glasses? Why the hell are you giving personalities to Locust Sergeant?"

"A Locust once had me in a choke hold, looked me in the eye and called me stupid. Are you telling me that you think those creatures are nothing more than grunts?"

"I'd prefer not to think they were anything but mindless monsters,"

"They beat us because we underestimated their ability, because they were more than just mindless animals,"

Burn muttered under his breath as he slung his Gnasher from his shoulder and fired several times at the Ticker. It didn't even know what hit it. As he bent down to examine the damage, he dug his fist into the body cavity and retrieved Wilks' Lancer. He handed it back to him, dripping with Ticker guts. Wilks gave it a look as he delicately accepted it from him, flicking the dripping Locust remnant off the weapon.

"Us or them," Burn told him harshly, "Do not humanise those monsters in my presence again."

He stalked moodily away into the darkness cursing as he went.

* * *

Aidie leaned against the wall of Archer's house, she tapped her fingers impatiently over her crossed arms as she waited for him to return. Eventually the front door opened and Archer exited his home followed by three voluptuous women.

"Archie why do you have to go now?" one whined clinging to his elbow as she tied her nightdress up.

"It's so dark outside Archie, why don't you stay here and keep us warm?" chimed another.

"Keep us safe out there Arch, we're counting on you," responded the third.

"My darlings," Archer smoothly responded back, "you can all keep each other company until I return. Just think of me enduring a night of this mindless grunt work until I can be back warming your bed again."

He kissed them passionately each in turn and ushered them back into their hut. As he shut the door he turned to look at Aidie who stared back at him with eyebrows raised in fascination.

"Tell why I had to meet you here rather than start shift at our usual place?" She grumbled, "you just rubbing in your sexual prowess?"

"Jealous?" He wiggled his eyebrows in response.

"As if,"

"Yes we're all aware of the confusing relationship you have with your Sergeant,"

"Don't quite get the allure of three though, was one not enough for you Archer?" She responded, opting to ignore his comment.

Archer swaggered over to her and reclaimed his Shotgun. They headed towards the village perimeter to commence their next round of checks.

"They are more than just a booty call, Aidie, I love all three of those women," he gave her an honest answer as he scanned the perimeter for any damage.

"Why?" She asked, genuinely curious, "don't either of them mind the other?"

"They're sisters,"

"And I thought I had a complicated relationship,"

In the few days that Aidie and Archer had been working together the pair had learnt more about each other than in the two years they had lived as neighbours. Archer, it seemed, liked to talk, more importantly he liked to talk about his women.

"So are we stopping at many other houses to call on more fine ladies?"

"Believe it or not Marya, Marta and Melinie are the only three ladies in my life,"

"And they alliterate as well, how cute,"

Archer flinched slightly at her jibe, which made her realise that she'd stepped over the line. She never used to mind making snide remarks at him but since the Wilks and Tate debacle she had become more aware at how her responses affected people. Clearly Archer was devoted to his ladies.

"Have you any children?" she continued instead.

He thoughtfully chewed on his gums before choosing to answer, "Nope, no children."

"You never wanted any?" she asked.

"It's not that I didn't want any, the girls would have loved a baby to mother. It's just that I can't have children. The price I paid for working hard hours in Imulsion Mines left me infertile. Some good I am to the future of the human race,"

"I'm sorry Archer I didn't realise," once again she had put her foot in it, tact was never her strongest feature.

He turned to look at her and narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "so what's the deal with you and your Sergeant?"

"What about him?"

"Aside from the fact that he clearly doesn't look like your brother and yet you share the same name?" Archer watched her closely for any indication of her response.

"I...I don't know what you mean," she took a hesitant step away from him in a readying attempt to protect herself if the confrontation went sour quickly.

"Ah come on Blondie, we've known for ages that you aren't blood related to the Sergeant,"

"How?"

"Your short Islander friend talks when he drinks, he's a mean gossip,"

"Bloody Cam," she cursed.

Archer chuckled to himself, "So come on spill, what's the deal. Who is he to you?"

She walked beside him silently as he continued to stare back at her, unwittingly unfaltering in his steps. She weighed up her options, live in denial or admit to the truth. How important was it to keep Archer as an ally when everything else was crumbling around them. She knew what Wilks would pick.

"He was my Guardian," she answered eventually, "he saved my family a few years back and offered to protect and train me until I came of age. He and the squad are my family now."

Archer bent down and pulled out a tool from his pocket to solder the corrugated metal panelling together. She watched him as he reattached a few damaged strands of fixings, working his way up the panelling until it was completely reattached. As he straightened himself up he gave her a look.

"Still doesn't answer why there is an immense amount of tension around the pair of you,"

"Wow, since when have you been so interested in my life?"

"Since the day you made him take a bath in the middle of a Polyp attack, never seen anyone so attentive. My girls don't even convey that amount of concern about me and I'm an infertile Rustlung sufferer."

"It is hard to explain to someone who has no clue of the history Wilks and I share,"

"Enlighten me,"

She smiled, "I don't need to explain myself to you Archer. The relationship Wilks and I have is a complicated one. But it will never affect our ability as Gears."

"Good to hear I suppose," he shrugged and headed towards the main gate, unlocking the vast structure and pushing it open to reveal the dark wilderness to them, "I miss it sometimes."

"Miss what?" she stood beside him to take in the landscape around them.

"The freedom, the open gates, no fences. Makes me feel restricted staying here every day of my miserable life,"

"It's overrated," she commented, he sent her a look, "I mean look at it this way. If we all walked Sera as Nomads we would never know the importance of family and togetherness. No danger means no walls and no reason to stay together."

"You're one seriously damaged individual,"

"You learn to live with me,"

They stood watching the darkness for a while allowing Archer his moment of solitude. Both taking in the silence between them, two different people from different backgrounds sharing the moment of contemplation.

A scuffling sound somewhere in the darkness drew them from their silence. Archer frowned squinting out into the night at a chance to catch sight of the culprit..

"Did you just?..." she started.

"What the hell is it?" he continued.

Aidie unhooked her Longshot and lifted the sights to her eye. She squinted as she picked up a vague outline of a figure.

"It's coming towards us, but it's just too dark for me to see anything more,"

"Shall we investigate,"

Aidie shook her head, "It would leave the gate exposed, I'll go find the others and we can work out the best tactic."

As it turned out Cam and Miles weren't that far from them. Despite being off shift Miles had been baiting Polyps with an Imulsion incendiary snare, his Stranded partner had taken up conversation with Cam about a blueprint he had once seen for a prototype weapon. Cam caught sight of Aidie's approach and beckoned her to him.

"Everything okay kid?"

"Archer and I were at the North gate, we've seen something heading towards the village, possible human Cam,"

He nodded thoughtfully and glanced back at the others behind him.

"C'mon fellas we're needed at the gate," he ordered them.

Archer waited nervously, it had been a while since anything remotely threatening had approached their gates. Although he knew the village was well fortified, the fear of the unknown scared him the most. Cam organised for the four to assess the possible danger whilst Aidie stayed back to protect the gate. They jogged towards the figure with their guns at the ready positioning themselves in a 'V' in case of attack.

The closer they drew the more they could pick out what was approaching. It was human, barely, staggering forwards then sideways as if intoxicated. Every so often it would grasp out at something to steady itself. It wasn't until they were almost upon it that Cam realised it was badly injured.

"Cam?" The person mumbled almost incoherently as it coughed out blood splattering him in the face.

Realisation dawned on Cam like a kick in the gut as he took in the injuries and the blood. So much blood. Then he started to see through to the man under the injuries.

"Tate is that you?"

"I found you," As if this had been the final act Tate tumbled to the ground.

* * *

Confusion and mayhem ensued as the group rushed the injured man back to the village, shouting and roaring for medical assistance.

Aidie watched dumbfounded as she locked the gates after them and blindly followed them back to the infirmary. Just as she was about to enter through the doors Cam blocked her way, his shirt and hands were smeared in blood.

"Aidie, Yer need to get Wilks and Burn," he spoke slowly as he tried to steady the wobble in his voice.

"Cam?" She asked worriedly, "Who is it? What's happened?"

"Please get them for me Aidie, it's Tate,"

"Oh no!" Her stomach lurched and she was already taking steps backwards to find the others.

* * *

Wilks burst through the infirmary doors with Burn and Aidie on his heels.

"Cam?" He bellowed into the bustle of humans.

"Over here," Miles responded from the other side of the room and beckoned his Sergeant to the side.

"What the hell happened?" Wilks demanded with a fierceness in his voice that was rarely heard.

The crush of medical attention parted momentarily to reveal Cam working to attempt to stop the bleeding from somewhere. Wilks took a step forward to stand over his old friend, his heart sank. One of Tate's eyes hung out of its socket by its optic nerve. He had been sliced down the side of his face to his neck. His nipples had been hacked off and one of his feet was missing all its toes.

Horrified, Wilks stepped backwards and closed his eyes in revulsion, he felt sick. Burn was busy shouting at Tate.

"Who did this, where are the girls?"

He repeated it enough for Tate to hazily pull himself into consciousness, he turned his head towards Burn's voice his remaining eye crusted over in blood. He reached out with his hand to grab hold of someone for comfort, Wilks didn't hesitate to step forward. His hand slipped through the bloodied nubs of the missing index and middle finger of his old friend.

"Tate," he unsteadily heard himself speak, "I'm here."

"Olly?" His bloodied hand weakly tried to squeeze him back.

"I'm here buddy," Wilks edged closer to him.

"They cut me Olly," he mumbled as bloodied tears fell from his intact eye, "they cut me bad and made them watch. Then they killed them in front of me. They killed them all."

"The girls?" Burn growled nearby.

"My babies, they killed my babies and made me watch,"

Cam was busy cutting apart Tate's bloodied trousers to get to a further injury on his upper thigh and sucked in a heavy breath as he realised the cause. Wilks glanced quickly at him in query.

"The fucking bastards," he muttered as he pulled out a set of genitalia from Tate's pocket, "they fucking castrated him."

The room went silent aside from Tate's gentle weeping.

* * *

Wilks was exhausted by the time the medics had managed to sedate Tate enough for them to patch up the mess he had been left in. Miles had already left retching, hand over his mouth, when Cam had started to extract the destroyed eye. Wilks had remained resolutely by his side throughout, guilt fought back at the desire to flee as far away as possible from his old friend. Cam took a moment to take a swig of water and glanced over at Wilks sitting vigil beside an unconscious Tate.

"I'm gonna have to send yer out now Olly," he told him gently.

Wilks gazed back bleary eyed, "why?"

"I have to clear up the mess they've made of his..." Cam faltered and instead glanced at Tate's crotch, "He's lost enough dignity already. I can't let yer see this."

"I understand," Wilks slowly rose to his feet and plodded out of the door into the empty streets.

Miles was leaning against the wall with his head in his hands.

"Miles?" Wilks asked, realising the full impact of what they had just witnessed, "you okay?"

Miles let out a heavy sigh before rubbing his hands over his face, he looked back at Wilks and gave him a shake of the head.

"No I'm not okay," he sighed, "He's a fucking kid. He survived the Locust wars to what? To what means? To be ripped apart by who? How is that kid ever going to have a normal life again?"

"I don't know Miles, all we can do is hope for the best,"

"And then what?"

Wilks shook his head, for once he didn't have the answer. All he wanted to concentrate on was ensuring Tate's survival. He would decide this next move from there.

"Did you see Aidan at all?" Miles asked quietly after a while.

"No, why?"

"She left the infirmary after me, absolutely silent. Might be worth checking if she's okay,"

"I honestly doubt I'm the right person to do that,"

Miles turned to look at him, his red eyes and tired face said so much, "look I don't tend to comment much on whatever crap you get yourself in, I leave the bollocking to Cam. But she's one of us Olly. She spent more shifts with Tate than any of us. If it affected us then it's going to affect her, despite whatever complications you and her are going through, you're her Sergeant it's your duty."

Wilks nodded thoughtfully, he was too tired to argue.

He trod slowly through the village, his Lancer felt like a heavy weight on his back. The sound of civilians stirring in their precious little huts, ignorant of the horror around them. As he reached his own abode he pushed aside the sheets and fabric hung from the lines, making him dart and weave through them to his door. Before he even entered the room he could hear the soft muffled sounds of sobbing.

She never cried.

"Aidan?"

The crying stopped at the sound of his voice. He stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him, unhooking his Lancer and placing it against the wall. He approached her side of the room and discovered her on the floor squeezed between the bed and the shelf with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped protectively around them. Her hair hung in straggled waves against her face, damp from the tears. He sank to the bed to take it in, clasping his hands together, trying to work out the best way to approach her.

"You okay?" he asked as emotionless as possible.

She nodded briskly, as if to brush it away, keeping her face hidden from him as she drew her knees further to her.

"Aidan?" he quietly murmured.

"I'm fine," her voice faltered, proving the contrary.

"Talk to me, please,"

"I'm fine"

"Aidan, this is an order, you will talk to me I'm your Sergeant remember," his tone got a little sharper in frustration.

"Stop it Wilks, stop it," she snapped back instantly, looking up at him to reveal her tear stained face, "I'm not playing these games with you anymore."

He dropped to his knees in front of her in confusion, "I'm not playing any games Aide."

"Who would do that?" she stuttered slightly as she inhaled a breath, "they castrated him and then made him watch as they slaughtered his children Wilks. Even little Tyrus, the poor baby. Tate loved his children more than we'll ever understand. And they just ripped them from him."

She faltered as tears built in her eyes and escaped down her cheeks. He sat helplessly watching her, sharing her pain but unable to comfort her.

"What kind of monster would do that to a man?"

He swallowed, half shaking his head as he responded huskily, "I don't know."

Her eyes flicked to his, examining his tired face in scrutiny, "I don't understand why this doesn't affect you like everyone else. Did the COG extract all your emotion as well as your soul?"

"You know more than anyone that's not true,"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" hurt reflected inside her, "Why aren't you feeling the pain the rest of us are going through. He was one of us Wilks,"

"You don't think I know that?" he snapped sharply, causing her to lean back in shock, "he was my fucking best friend, we went through everything together. And I fucked up, I messed up when he needed me most and pushed him away, because I was too fucking proud to admit I was at fault. I will never be able to look at him again without realising that I could have prevented it."

She stared silently back at him, unable to respond.

"But I seem to be doing a lot of that recently," his eyes fixed on her as his voice softened slightly, "what the hell are we doing Aidie? If you've had enough just walk away now, I can't keep doing this. I can't keep playing this game with you. This is who I am, I won't be anything more. I won't keep pretending for the rest of my life."

She blinked, lips slightly parted as she exhaled heavily. A tear escaped from her lashes, travelling down her cheek and landing heavily on the floor between her feet. She gazed at it thoughtfully.

"Why do you keep pushing people away when you need them most?" she asked quietly.

"What?"

"I know you well enough to know that it's your go to move. Why let yourself get hurt emotionally when you can push everyone away?" finally she looked up at him, meeting his gaze with determination, "It's what you did with me, wasn't it?"

This was the first time that they had properly confronted one another, to finally air their grievances since his foolish act. He was definitely not ready for it.

"You and Tate had a disagreement and he hurt you emotionally, I'm assuming he made you feel less of a man than he was. The only way to combat this pain was to go to the only person you could gain your control back, through me."

"It wasn't my intention,"

"Instead of talking to me about your hurt pride and maybe finding a way to address it, you make the situation worse and find a way to push me away too," she let out a sigh, "I'm still allowed to feel angry about this."

He watched her for a moment as her eyes flicked up to meet his. Wordlessly he sat back on the bunk to give himself space from the encounter, rubbing his hands over his face. He pressed the base of his palms into his eyes to stop the temptation of emotion rising to the forefront. He felt himself let out a long laboured breath.

"I can't keep doing this, it's killing me," he muttered, letting his hands drop to his lap.

"Keep pushing Olly, I dare you," she had unfurled herself to rise to the challenge now.

"You'd really do this now?" he snapped, "After everything that's happened? Just go ahead and destroy me, before I have any dignity left. It's what I did to you, right?"

She chewed on her lip as she contemplated her next move.

"I fucking do this every time, when I finally open myself up to people I do everything I can to fuck it all up," he leaned forward and placed his head in his hands, "fucking hell, Tate. I'm doing a great job of fucking up the only friends I ever had."

A rogue tear escaped from his eye as he felt his suppressed emotions bubble upwards. He cursed himself for allowing her to see him fall apart again. Deciding that the damage had already been done, he lifted his head to look back at her and finally face up to the truth he had been omitting from her.

"We've lived a lie, you and I, for almost two years now. We've remained steadfast in our deceit and have stayed strong because of it. As your Sergeant I have to keep a professional distance from you. And yet as your... I don't even have words to describe what we are to one another," He exhaled heavily to summon the courage to continue, "I have feelings for you, I have from the moment I first met you and I'm sure you've always been aware of it. But I struggle to suppress this mass of conflicting emotions. I slipped up that day, hearing that I was a failure over and over again, that the Wretch had become the reason I couldn't admit anything to you. Something inside me snapped. To feel less of a man whilst the woman I loved slept beside me each night and being unable to do anything about it. It killed me. I destroyed my friendship with Tate because of it. The biggest mistake in my life was hurting you when I had promised never to be that person. No one regrets it more than I do. Please Aide, I don't know what I would do if I lost you too."

She thoughtfully clicked her tongue as she made her decision and crawled towards him on all fours, coming to a stop between his knees where she planted herself on her haunches. Such icy blue eyes gazed back at him as she tilted her head slightly. He fought back the urge to reach out to touch her, to tease her straggled curls behind her ear. She picked up on his hesitation and leaned against his legs, taking his hand in hers and bringing it to her cheek. He swallowed nervously as he cupped his palm against her and lightly stroked his thumb over her freckled skin. Her eyes closed in response and he felt her body dip towards him.

"Olly," she breathed, opening her eyes and fixing him with an intense look, "If only you knew."

She stretched upwards, running a hand through his scruffily growing hair and down across the stubble of his beard. She stroked her fingers against it as she placed a gentle kiss on the side of his neck. He closed his eyes and let out a gasp as a tingling surge of desire swept through him. Her lips drifted to his jawline and his cheek before finally touching carefully against his own. There was a naivety in her gentleness, an innocence in her kisses that made him love her all the more.

He placed a careful hand against the small of her back to hold her close to him, in fear of letting go to the security of her nearness. She pulled away slightly, eyes widened with an innocent curiosity as they met his. A rogue tear escaped from his eye and she wiped it away with a gentle thumb.

"I need you Aidie," he breathed, "I can't do any of this without you."

Just as he pulled back she leaned upwards and planted a tender kiss just below his earlobe. Her lips brushed against his ear, sending a pleasurable tingle down his spine as she responded.

"I am yours, always."


	7. Chapter 7 - Louder than Words

**Authors Note:** Good grief three chapters in a month, what is wrong with me. Anyway more of a filler chapter but things are starting to go down.

Thanks for the reads and review, hoping you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing this.

* * *

 **Chapter Seven - Louder than Words**

* * *

Wilks stirred at the sound of the civilians outside tending to their grubby laundry. He hadn't expected to fall asleep. For most of the night he and Aidie had lain awake together, holding one another in consolation, comfortable in the silence around them.

He glanced down at Aidie's sleeping form, her hand draped across his chest as she nestled closely to the warmth of his body, her legs intertwined with his own. Her hair now a tight twist of curls over her face as she breathed heavily in slumber beside him.

He reached across and teased a strand behind her ear, she let out a slight moan at his touch and her eyes flickered into consciousness. He felt her arm squeeze his chest slightly as she acknowledged him.

"Please tell me it was all a dream," she murmured sleepily.

"I'm afraid not," he placed a hand against her back in comfort.

"Poor Tate," she seemed to be in no hurry to leave the warmth of his side, "his poor little children."

"I will do everything in my power to make it right for him, I promise you that,"

They lay in silence for a little while longer, listening to the civilians living their ignorant lives outside the bubble of their tiny shack. Wilks played his fingers through Aidie's hair, lifting it up and untangling the knots to drop against her shoulders. She let out a light sigh at his touch.

"I should have made him stay," she broke the silence finally, "he came to me. I could have stopped him, out of everyone, it should have been me. But he wanted to embrace civilian life and honour the Allfathers with his children. He would have listened to me, I should have called him an idiot and told him to stay."

"And how often has that ever worked for you? Unless you had some power over Tate that trumped Sofie, he would have chosen her. He always has. No I'm the one solely responsible for this, if I had reeled in my aggression we wouldn't be in this situation."

She thoughtfully traced her fingers across the scars on his chest through his t-shirt, following them by memory. His chest rose and fell as he watched her carefully before taking her hand in his to stop her.

"Do they still hurt, your scars?" she said quietly staring at their clasped hands.

"Why do you ask?"

She plucked her hand from him and swung her body round to sit facing him. Her legs folded around her as he hoisted himself to a semi sit beside her.

"I just keep wondering how long it'll take Tate to fully recover from his injuries. If he even recovers at all."

He thoughtfully shook his head, "you can't put a time frame on these things. The physical is one thing, getting him out of the woods is the first challenge, then helping the scars mend over time. But I don't think you ever fully recover from the emotional and mental damage."

She let out a slight gasp in response, as she blinkingly gazed across his own marks over his face. He had never really seen her scrutinise them before, like she was working out how she could fix him from this revelation. But he knew this wasn't the time, he didn't want her pity. Desperate to deflect her concern elsewhere he continued.

"My injuries were nothing compared to what happened to Tate, whatever attacked him was calculating and vicious. They took away his manhood then killed his children in front of him, what Locust has ever done that?"

She shook her head, "none."

"Which means we're dealing with some horrific human beings,"

"How do we respond to this?" she asked, diverting her attention to something more productive.

"Our first step is to work out if we can retrieve the women, getting Sofie back safely to Tate is all that matters now,"

"Would Burn even let us?"

"I'm not going to give him a chance to stop us," he told her decisively as he heaved himself off the bed, "Tate and Sofie are our family. No matter what, we're going to get them through this."

* * *

They stood in a room as the tension sizzled against the walls. It felt like they had been there for hours arguing their next step. Burn pacing back and forth so much he had almost created an indentation in the ground where his heavy footsteps had thundered. Wilks on his feet for so long gesticulating wildly, his arms aching. Voices were raised in anger and grief as they both argued their point across so aggressively that those listening had no clue as to whose side they should actually be on.

"So you're saying what exactly?" Wilks demanded of Burn for what seemed like the hundredth time, "we leave the women to be brutally tortured by whatever did that to Tate?"

"What if they're Locust Sergeant?" Burn bellowed back, "shall we just leave our gates open for them. Who knows if they followed the kid back. You saw that Ticker last night, they're still out there. And we have our hands tied enough with the Lambent each night. We can barely defend the village from one enemy what are we supposed to do with two?"

"So we're expected to allow whatever happened to Tate and the women and not retaliate," Wilks responded, "I can't stand for that Burn and you know it."

"And you're suggesting we leave this village completely undefended and at the mercy of whatever may attack it,"

"I'm not saying that,"

"But you _are_ implying that you plan on going after whatever attacked your friend," Burn swung himself round threateningly to Wilks, "You forget yourself Sergeant. You are here under my control. You have very little say in this matter."

"Oh come on Burn, this again!" Wilks strode towards Burn and the pair sized each other up again, the others in the room stared back silently, "So you'll just let those women go missing and do nothing about it. Tate's girlfriend is amongst those, I'm not going to sit back and let that happen."

"They took my wife and daughter too," Burn let his words hit its intended purpose, Wilks shook his head in disappointment.

"That should be more of a reason to go, not less,"

"This is not up for discussion Sergeant, your role here is to act as protectors for this village. I am devastated for these women but as the leader of this village I will make my own provisions to find them in my own time. We need you here more than they do,"

"That's where our opinions differ Burn,"

"If you don't like it, you can leave," Burn pushed Wilks that one step further in the hope that the Sergeant would fully understand his role in the village.

Wilks' response was not what he expected.

"Fine, we'll leave," he turned towards the door striding confidently away, "Cam, Miles, Aidie, with me. Assemble yourselves by the gate, we're going."

He stopped himself as he opened the door, turning back to Burn, "You need us more than we need you."

As he left the room Aidie leaned across to Cam in confusion, "should we be following him?"

Cam patiently held his hand up for her to remain seated, he had grown accustomed to the classic Wilks tactic. Although it had been the father's go to move previously, it was the first time he had seen the son perform it with such finesse. Somewhere along the line Wilks had suddenly become the professional Sergeant, rather than the reckless lad he had been used to following.

It was Archer who made the move that Cam had been waiting for.

"Sergeant wait!" he called, abandoning Burn's side to head after him.

Burn watched him go with a look of betrayal, "Archer?"

"They may be your wife and daughter but they're my family too Burn. You keep forgetting sometimes that in your quest to protect everyone in this village you neglect the ones closest to you," he gesticulated to the three Gears sitting dumbstruck at the side of the room, "you taught us to hate the COG for a good reason, but these people, they gave us the tools we needed to protect our village. Let them save our people before there is no one left to protect."

Burn and Archer stared at each other silently for a moment.

"Archer can we have a word in private?"

His second in command nodded obediently as his leader led him to his private chambers, slamming the doors behind him.

"Hmm, interesting," Cam responded thoughtfully as he took to his feet, "that went better than I expected."

"How so?" Miles asked following them into the street.

"Well Burn may be the leader but his priority will always lie with the village. Archer is something completely different. Archer has the knowledge we need to scout the women and he has access to the weapons. If anyone will sway Burn, it's Archer."

"So what do we do?" Aidie asked.

"We let 'em hack it out between them," Cam indicated towards the weapons building, "lets get ourselves prepped, so when Wilks makes the call we'll be ready."

* * *

Wilks sat at Tate's bedside in the rudimentary recovery room. Half of him had been wrapped up with strips of bedding in lieu of bandages. The medics had administered a strong dose of self made painkillers to help him cope with the shock of his injuries. He drowsily gazed over at Wilks with his swollen eye and reached a hand out with the remnant of his fingers. Wilks cupped them in his and closed his eyes.

"We're going to get your Sofie back Tate, you just rest here and we'll be back with her before you know it,"

"They were human Olly," Tate quietly croaked confirming Wilks' suspicions, "those monsters that took the girls. They were human."

"Shh," Wilks squeezed his hand slightly.

"My beautiful babies," a tear escaped down Tate's cheek, "my tiny little ones."

"I am so sorry Tate," Wilks felt a lump form in his own throat, "if I could bring them back to you I would. I'm doing the next best thing, I'm getting Sofie back."

"She'll never want me now, look at me, I'm a monster,"

"Nah, a few rugged scars add to the allure," he said with a strained half smile in an attempt to lighten the moment.

"You think so?" Tate didn't sound entirely convinced.

"She loves you Tate, she'll be happy to be back with you," there was no point reminding Tate that she had dumped Wilks even before she had seen the damage after his accident. He just hoped that Sofie loved Tate enough to see through the destruction.

"You were right all along," he wept, "I couldn't even protect my babies from humans. I'm such a failure."

"Oh Tate," Wilks fought back the lump, he wasn't going to cry, he couldn't, "I should never have said that. I am sorry. I'm so sorry. You are no failure. If anything I don't stand up to comparison. I should have been there by your side. You should never have done this alone."

"The sick bastard," Tate grumbled to himself as he suddenly gripped his friend's hand, "he wore a Locust Skull over his face. Twisted in the head. It was as if he enjoyed hurting me so he could hear Sofie and the kids scream in response. He cut me Ol, he cut me and enjoyed it. I'm half a man."

"Never Tate, not to me,"

"I keep hearing Sofie begging him to stop and her screams. Oh god her screams as he beheaded our babies in front of us. Even little Tyrus. I failed them, I failed her."

He started to cry again, his body convulsing in sobs so much that the nurses rushed to attend to him.

"I'm going to get her back Tate, I promise," Wilks uttered firmly as he prised himself away.

He left the room, glancing back through the window to watch the nurses pin him down through his seizures, injecting him with a cocktail of drugs to calm him. Wilks took a few steps away before he dropped to a seat in the corridor, put his head in his hands and sobbed.

It took a few minutes to bring himself round. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair before taking to his feet. He let out a heavy breath, reminding himself the reason he was continuing as he exited the building.

Archer had been waiting for him outside. Adorned with a double shoulder holster equipped with Boltok Pistols, round his waist hung a homemade utility belt with different tools and weapons attached.

"Going somewhere?" Wilks asked him, eying him up and down.

"Burn caved, I am at your disposal,"

He nodded thoughtfully, "Okay. We're leaving in ten, get yourself ready and say goodbye to anyone you love."

He watched as Archer jogged down the streets towards his home. He continued his journey to the gates where his squad dutifully waited for him. They were clad in their COG issue armour, aside Aidie who had adapted the protective plates to her practical Sniping needs.

"So Archer is coming," he announced to them, but they already seemed privy to this information, "You sure you want to join us Aide?"

"What kind of question is that Ol, of course I'm coming,"

"You've seen what these bastards can do, we can't carry you if you aren't able to do it,"

"Since when have my abilities been in question?" She asked curiously, "You personally supervised my training. Two years ago I may have been inexperienced at handling myself, but can you say the same now?"

As if to answer her case she picked up the armour plates that Cam had left on the floor for him and assisted Wilks in attaching it over his shoulders, clipping the pieces in place where he may have struggled. It had been a while since any of them had worn their adapted plates in the heat. She then attached his holster to a strap across his thigh, sending a sly smile up to him as she did so.

Miles nudged Cam as the pair observed them in fascination, "wrapped around her finger."

"Don't make me punch you Miles," Wilks commented as he cleared his throat in an attempt to draw his attention from her.

"Besides," she continued to reaffirm her case as she handed him his Lancer, "they wanted the women didn't they and I don't see any woman here except me. The way I see it, I'm your way in."

He assessed her carefully checking her readiness based on how he had prepped her. Her Longshot was attached to a sling on her back, an adapted utility belt hung loosely around her hips to holster her Gorgon and three pouches with ammunition. Inside her calf length boots, around her ankle, she had strapped a knife. He had spent a long time perfecting and tweaking her abilities as a Gear to suit the specific needs within his squad. Tate had even originally been set up as her training buddy and spotter during the long gruelling nights. As she stood before him now, he had no excuse to keep her back any more.

"You are right, of course," he nodded, "I don't think we could do this without you."

* * *

Archer took the lead, pressing ahead towards the Allfathers sacred ground in the hope that they could track the women by assessing the scene of the attack. He had predicted that if they continued on without stopping to sleep they could make the ground in just over a day.

"My sister; Burn's wife, has done the journey twice. She went this time to support her daughter because it was her turn to honour the Allfathers with the birth of her own child,"

"Seems like a stupid tradition. Baring yourself to a load of statues in the hope that you honour them by exposing your bits whilst you push out a watermelon sized human," Aidie commented dryly from the back of the group.

"And like that I'm gay," Miles responded quickly.

"It depends on how strong your faith is I suppose," Archer replied, as if he had gotten used to Aidie's observations, "My sister and I weren't particularly religious but when we met Burn's family the pain they had endured and gone through had led them to become devout Allfathers followers. You've seen what Burn looks like, how could you go through that and not find yourself in the same way."

"Well Wilks found a different kind of religion," Miles chirped, "I believe it was called Aidanism."

"You're an ass," Aidie leapt forward and tripped Miles up from behind.

"I'm surprised no one from Jacinto ever adopted those religious honouring,"

"Jacinto was the only COG stranglehold for a long time. If the COG had allowed civilians to embrace such an archaic religion they would have found a way to influence it somehow." Wilks responded with his reasoning, "Civilians generally put their faith in hospitals and the walls protecting them. My father never really encouraged a religion, he saw so much death dealt by humans and monsters he had already given up on a higher purpose."

"Why forego the comfort of a bed when you can bare a child on a stone floor in the open air," Aidie continued sharply.

"Yer overly critical of their beliefs Aidie," Cam noted.

"Yeah well you'd be critical of anything that involved you men having to expose yourselves in front of a statue for the soul reason of honouring a deity," Cam's expression fixed on her longer than she was comfortable, forcing her to elaborate, "I was brought up in a Compound that preached such beliefs, I've seen enough to know my opinions of it."

"Neither my sister or niece embraced the religion in all honesty, but they did it for Burn. He was there at the birth of both of his children and appreciated my sister all the more for it,"

Archer led them up a path which twisted into the cliff as they trekked above the main route towards their destination.

"Would you then Aidie?" Archer asked her as he stepped over a mound of rock.

"Would I what?"

"Whoever you choose to bare children with, if he requested, would you do it for him?"

"Who says that I want children?" she picked her way over the rock, leaping down from a particularly high chunk and landing easily on the balls of her feet.

"Really?" Archer looked back at her, "you surprise me. Even after everything we discussed?"

Wilks stopped mid step to glance over at Aidie, a little niggle of jealousy twinged somewhere inside him. He had assigned Archer and Aidie together on the basis that neither had seemed to get on with the other, this unlikely cohesion unnerved him.

"I'm not saying it'll always be off the table, it's just that I can't see myself raising a child and living like this. The problem is finding someone who understands that and shares my beliefs."

"Even if he wants you to honour your child to the Allfathers,"

She paused and gave him a sneaky smirk, "Touché Archer."

Cam nudged against Wilks as he squeezed passed him, "Careful, yer jealousy's showing."

Wilks shook himself round, "didn't realise I was staring."

Cam shook his head and tutted as Wilks caught up with him.

"Get yer head straight kid,"

The path inclined narrowly forcing the group to commence in single file, steadying themselves against the rock as their route reached an apex. Each one stopped to take in the Seran landscape below them, a vast expanse of destruction and acrid wilderness cast itself before them and all they could do was stare at it.

"So much desolation," Archer commented, "How could you destroy something so beautiful?"

"Hey, it's not like we personally flipped the switch on the Hammer ourselves. We were as shocked as you that Prescott resorted to such actions," Miles defended his people as readily as he had always prepared himself to be.

Aidie had pulled out her Longshot to scope the land around them. She had started scanning behind them first, to make sure no one was tracking them then shifted her vision along the gully below them until something caught her attention in the distance.

"Locust," she breathed, she lowered her sights to report back to her squad only to realise that they had continued on without her. Although she had been trained to keep back to scope for danger, it slightly annoyed her that they hadn't communicated it to her. She slung her Longshot over her back and carefully stepped down the rocky path as it started to descend sharply downwards. She had always been light on her feet, which she used to her advantage to fight against the crumbling path around her. She built up momentum, jogging uncertainly down the path till she had started to catch up with her squad.

"Incoming!" she called, knowing that her pace would be too fast to stop in time before she hit someone.

Wilks dropped to the back of the group and readied himself, he took hold of her hand and pulled her to him to take in the remnant of her pace to slow her. He took a few steps backwards to steady himself until she had drawn to a halt.

"You okay?" he asked, she looked up at him with a steady smile and nodded.

"Archer, please tell me you don't take the pregnant women this way?" she asked as she disentangled herself from Wilks.

"No they take the main route down there, its longer but safer for them," he responded from the front, "this route is much quicker, but more dangerous."

"I was starting to question your methods in all honesty,"

"You see anything back there?" Wilks asked, indicating to the apex behind them.

"Locust, in the distance, couldn't see much detail because it was too far for the sights to pick p. But they were definitely Locust,"

Wilks nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, worthwhile just keeping an eye on them every so often. Best keep our heads down and cross this cliff as quickly and quietly as possible."

They pressed ahead, following along the path which dug its way through the hill, the bank of earth had started to tower over them, years of silt and sediment had formed it into a tunnel. They entered the darkness until it brought them back into the open. Miles had taken over at the head whilst Archer had dropped to the back of the group where he and Aidie had been chatting and joking quietly.

"Wait!" he announced suddenly, causing Wilks to stumble over Miles. He made his way through the squad to approach a pile of rocks at the side of the path. Dropping to his knees to dig through the dirt to reveal a rope ladder. He picked up the knotted lengths, which had been tethered to the cliff to the left of them, and dropped it down the side of the ledge to their right. "We go down here now."

Wilks peered suspiciously over the edge, it was a significant distance to descend via an old rotting piece of rope. But despite his reservations he knew as their Sergeant he had to make the first leap of faith. Without speaking he swung himself over the ledge, gripping hold of the ladder, trusting it could take his weight. Unsteadily he lowered himself down allowing the ancient rope to take his full weight one rung at a time, the ladder swung and swayed at his rough handling and his stomach lurched. Finally his feet reached the ground and he allowed himself to exhale. He indicated for the group to follow him down as he held the rope ladder securely to aid descent. Cam was the next down, scaling the ladder like it was second nature, but then to Cam most things came naturally to him. He rarely let himself be controlled by fear. It would have made him a much better leader than Wilks ever could have aspired. Cam leapt the last few rungs to the ground effortlessly and brushed the dust down his shins. Miles and Archer shortly followed, as Aidie had insisted she scope the landscape beforehand to give them an idea of their location.

"Aidie said she saw movement somewhere down here," Archer told Wilks as he inadvertently took over at the foot of the ladder, "so we need to keep aware."

As Wilks unhooked his Lancer in preparation he couldn't help notice Archer assist Aidie to the ground with the final steps, his hand resting lightly on her bottom. He turned away quickly before he retaliated and did something he might have regretted.

Aidie held back as Wilks strode towards the others, she sent Archer a look.

"What are you doing?"

"Who me?" Archer sent her an innocent look as he twisted the rope ladder and slotted it into a crevice slashed down the side of the cliff.

"Oh come on, I know your game," she admonished, "leave it will you."

"Ah what's a little jealousy to spark things off between friends," Archer joked with a smirk, "you and I both know there's nothing going on. But he certainly doesn't."

"Archer, he's my Sergeant, there's a sixty percent chance he'd punch you,"

"I like my chances," he smirked and patted her bottom playfully as she walked passed.

"Touch my ass again and I'm going to be the one punching you."

"Too easy," he grinned as he followed behind her to the others.

* * *

The Allfathers Sacred Ground was nothing much to look at on first approach, an old ruin of a church with a large courtyard surrounded by archaic faceless statues. As they neared the structure the ornate architecture became apparent. The church, although it had lost the unique features once carved into every crevice, still maintained a vague resemblance to the building it had once aspired. A variety of plant life twisted and weaved through the slate grey stonework. It creeped through broken windows and covered the crumbling roof as undeniable proof that Sera was far from ready to relent to the destruction around it. Moss carpeted the courtyard in patches, thick and spongy to the touch. As if some mystical control had power the moss had ceased to grow the moment it reached the dried earth outside the grounds. Life flourished in this sacred area where everywhere else destruction persisted.

Archer took the lead to sit in the middle of the mossy stone circle to talk to the towering Allfathers. He glanced over at the others and ushered them to follow suit.

"Please humour me and kneel a moment whilst I request permission to enter the site,"

The Gears exchanged looks with each other, trying to figure out who would make the first move. Eventually Wilks let out a sigh and took the lead, positioning himself on his knees behind Archer, the others followed.

"Almighty Allfathers I plead to you to protect us whilst we honour you in this moment of tragic circumstances,"

"He knows he's talking to a statue right?" Aidie commented sarcastically, "Statues didn't protect Tate did they?"

Wilks glanced at her sharply, "Shh. You may not believe in these people's beliefs but we need to honour his wishes whilst we are in his place of worship."

"Busted!" Miles nudged Aidie in response with a grin. Wilks shot them both a look before he turned back around to listen to Archer.

On their knees they took in Archer's worship whilst he pleaded in a language no one had heard before. His voice almost sounded sadly melodic as he chanted to the deities around them. Eventually he switched to speaking in Tyran so they could all understand.

"We have suffered a tragic loss to our family and I ask you to help us to move onwards from this tragedy in a way that only you mighty Allfathers can help."

As they sat there in silent contemplation the moss started to grow warm as it rippled around them. Archer placed his hands gently on the greenery and stroked it with his fingers. From their positions the Gears could see the moss moving upwards along the statues and towards them in a motion no one could fully explain. They sat as tiny fungi started to rapidly grow around them, surrounding them in a tight circle. They looked around, trying to work out whether everyone was equally as dumbfounded as the other. A vine crept up towards Aidie and started twisting itself up her thighs and around her waist, its creeper tickled around her fingers and snaked up her arm, yet somehow she remained completely at ease with it. It grew a white flower which blossomed over her stomach. The petals dropped quickly to her lap as the vines retreated down her body and back to its original position around one of the statues surrounding them.

In what seemed like an eternity was actually over in minutes, leaving four Gears sitting in stunned silence. Archer quietly took to his feet once he had completed his chanting and turned to look at them, bursting into laughter.

"Looks like we've made converts out of you,"

"What... what just happened?" Wilks asked woozily as Archer helped him to his feet.

"Take a few moments to steady yourself, the first time always hits you the hardest," Archer assisted Wilks to sit on a rock.

"What was that?"

"That was the Allfathers expressing their pain at our situation. Interesting actually because I've never seen it show itself to non converts in a first sitting. It took a few times for it to reveal itself to me and even then I was sceptical," he turned to see Aidie still sitting on the moss with white petals around her, "Interesting."

He approached her kneeling down to check her over as she queasily gazed back at him. He helped her to her feet and guided her to one side, where she doubled over and dry heaved. He patted her back lightly as she vomited up bile.

Wilks staggered his feet whilst Cam and Miles watched in curiosity.

"Aide?"

"She'll be fine," Archer explained stepping away from her to give her space, "the spirits are always drawn to the women more, they always have more of a response from it than we do. I expect it's just triggered a natural reaction inside her. Give her a few minutes."

As they left Aidie to herself Wilks suggested they make camp inside the Church before they start the next task of tracking the women.

* * *

The Nightmares watched their fire burn in the darkness. Their Leader twisted a piece of meat over the flames, watching as the skin scorched in the heat. He drew the stick to his mouth and took a mouthful of bloodied juicy meat, the blood dribbled through the gap in his jaw down his chin and dropped to the floor. He wiped a hand at his mouth and shook the juices off his fingers as he took another bite.

The Commander, along with a small group of mercenaries, had led the women back to the Professor. She had suggested that her Leader create a trap to draw further inhabitants out of the village. He had set up camp a short distance from the church, watching every movement made in preparation for their ambush.

The Scout made his way into the heart of the camp, his mask had been a horrific combination of human and Locust skins stitched together. He made his way directly to the Leader and sat on the earth beside him, tipping his mask up to address him. The Leader offered him a shank of bloodied meat, he accepted it gratefully wolfing down the remnant and gnawing down on the bone until it snapped in his teeth.

"Anything to report?" he asked, knowing full well the Scout had returned with news.

"As you predicted," he said searching around for a mug of liquid to wash the meat down, he wiped messily at his face and continued, "the fool walked straight to the gates, led me right to them. They sent out a group of five. I followed them through the canyon and they are camping at the Church for the night."

"Five? That's all they sent out to fetch back their women?" He almost felt offended, "They could have at least made it a challenge. Do they care that little about their female population?"

"The four of the five are Gears, I'd know that armour anywhere,"

"Makes it more interesting,"

"One is female,"

"Now that's more like it," he leaned forward to address the rest of his men, "gentlemen, sleep well because tomorrow morning we shall be slaughtering ourselves some Gears."


	8. Chapter 8 - Onslaught

**Author's Note-** Okay a little slower releasing this one as I have had my head stuck trying to wade through chapter nineteen. But I have managed to complete it so we're looking good at attempting to post consistent chapters now (although I do keep saying this, I may be in denial). I have also pretty much completed it, so at least I have an idea as to where I'm going with this.

Anyway, I digress. I'd like to thank my one dedicated reviewer, I look forward to your reviews, at least my written words are being read by someone who appreciates them.

For your enjoyment, chapter eight, when everything goes to hell...

* * *

 **Chapter Eight - Onslaught**

* * *

Aidie woke before the sun had risen for her stint on watch. Padding quietly to the courtyard she cautiously took in the mossy cobblestones and knelt down to face the statues.

"Well I suppose this is as good a place as any," she said as she ran her fingers over the moss half expecting to see some kind of movement from it like the night before.

She shook her head in bemusement, how had it come to this, that she was talking to a statue. It reminded her so much of her childhood when her Lieutenant had made the boys take morning drills in their Compound, the girls had to sit facing the statues praying for virtue.

A sound rustled from behind the wall, alerting her to movement. She rose to her feet to investigate the noise, unhooking her Gorgon from its holster in readiness. Hoisting herself onto the wall she peered over it. A blanket flapped in the breeze, lifting and dropping as if in a gentle dance each time it touched down like a caring shroud over a pile of decomposing bodies.

As she looked across she caught sight of something that made her stomach empty. She had found the dismembered bodies of Tate's children, strewn over the wall like rejected rubbish.

For a moment she didn't really know what to do, her instinct told her that she couldn't leave them scattered and torn. They deserved a decent burial.

She climbed over the wall and dropped to her hands and knees, scooping at the earth with a rock to create four small graves. Before she even knew what was happening tears had streaked down her cheeks as she dug away at the ground. She stopped to steady herself as she approached the bodies, picking the children up into her arms and carefully laying each body into their final resting place. By the time she reached Tyrus, wrapping his bloodied blanket around his tiny frame, the tears wouldn't stop falling. It hit her like a kick in the heart.

"I am so sorry this happened to you," she sobbed as she tried to push the earth back over them, "I'm so sorry."

She retreated back, her muddied hands trembling on her lap, her body stopping her from continuing. How could she possibly do this, covering those innocent tiny beings with earth seemed like such a final thing to do.

She was unaware of the sound of footsteps rushing behind her, the stones crunching under his boots. All she sensed was his distinctive smell enveloping her as Wilks embraced her into his protection. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the wall.

"Shh, it's okay, you're not doing this alone,"

"Oh god Olly," she clutched hold of him, "how did it come to this?"

He placed her to a sit, crouching before her to fix her with a look.

"Sit for a bit, let me take over,"

She watched as he tucked each child tidily in their final resting spot like he was putting them to bed for one last time. His hands were gentle and caring as he tidied the messy strands of hair behind their ears. Each scoop of earth he placed was laid in care. The attention he paid to each child as if they were his own, he took his time and placed his hand on each grave in turn to utter a silent prayer to say goodbye. The baby was the hardest he stroked the soft edges of the blanket to swaddle him safely and padded the earth in comfortably around him.

Aidie took note as he bent his head in prayer with one hand resting on the final grave, tears made their way down his cheek. She rushed to him, kneeling beside him in support

"I did this Aidie," he said as he straightened up and looked at the graves.

"Don't be ridiculous,"

"I set off the chain of events that caused this. I drove Tate here. I am just as responsible as the bastard that did this,"

"Ollyvar," she placed her hands on his, forcing him to look at her, "you did not do this. If you blame yourself for this, for such a monstrous act, you're more of an idiot than I give you credit. We're going to get this bastard and we're going to help Tate over this. Don't you ever forget the strength of our family."

He leaned his forehead against hers, "what did I do to deserve such a strong person like you?"

She gave him a gentle smile before she rose to her feet to scout pebbles and spell out each child's name.

He unfolded himself out and sat back on the wall to watch her, the lost look returning to his face as if he was processing something.

"You okay?" she asked.

He looked sadly up at her, "it just dawned on me. I have held every single one of Tate's children within hours of their births and the youngest one was the only one who ever had an effect on me."

"He looked more like Tate than the others,"

"No I don't mean it like that, I mean that I actually felt jealous when that smug bastard handed me his son and told me how I was missing out,"

"He was never very good at tact," she made her way towards him, "why didn't you do something about it then? If you were jealous about what Tate had, there were plenty of women in that village who would have loved nothing more than to provide a child for a Sergeant. Damn, that midwife would have paired you up within seconds."

"Because there was only one person I wanted," his vision remained fixed on the graves so to avoid her gaze, "why would I ever settle for anyone else."

She sat silently on the wall beside him, wiping the tear tracks from her cheeks. She had always been aware of his conflicting feelings, she had never known anyone to feel emotion as strongly as Wilks. She also knew that his position as her Sergeant also forced him to maintain his professionalism. And it was this responsibility that kept him as her protector instead of her lover.

"Olly..." she tried to start.

"Let's face it Aide," he interrupted, "I'm a Sergeant in my twenties who nearly died several times over in a world that has been warring for decades. I've messed up one relationship and I'm doing a pretty good job of sabotaging the second. The chances of us actually working out is ranking with me living into my thirties,"

"That's rather defeatist talk coming from you,"

"My positivity is running on empty these days," he grumbled to himself.

"Well I'm not ready to give in yet,"

* * *

They sat silently for a while staring at the graves in contemplation until Wilks made the move. He straightened up and headed back towards the church. As he entered the courtyard he stopped as something moved in the shifting shadows. He glanced back at Aidie who had mirrored his actions in anticipation and stared cautiously in the distance.

"Did you see that?" she asked him, making her way to the courtyard to join him.

The ground started shaking around them, causing them to steady themselves against anything that didn't move. The ground suddenly parted and a Stalk burst through the mossy courtyard, ripping up the cobbled stone and smashing apart the statues as it twisted and towered into the sky. Before Wilks could pull out his Lancer the pods split open and spewed out a curled up creature covered in Imulsion. As it unfurled itself to its full height both Gears took a step back in horror.

Clearly it had once been a Locust, it's features displayed all the attributes of a Drone. But something had gone horribly wrong, it's hideous face was now deformed and its skin partially pealed back over its jaw, revealing the obvious glowing Lambent indications. Imulsion dripped from its eye sockets as it searched around for a target. The ribcage looked like it had been ripped open baring the beating Imulsion core inside. It's talon like claws were sharp and deadly as it fixed upon the two Gears and let out a screeching roar, behind it three more birthed themselves into the courtyard grounds.

"Aide," Wilks cautiously took a slow step backwards with one hand outstretched to usher her behind him, he kept his voice low and steady, "go get the others... now."

She nodded obediently reflecting his slow movements so not to incite the creature. She backed into the church, heart thundering inside her, it had been a long time since she had confronted something deadlier than a Polyp. As she drew near her companions she felt her knees grow wobbly, she steadied herself against a rotten pew.

"Cam," she fought against the quiver in her voice.

At the sound of his name Cam startled himself awake, jolting to a sit quicker than Aidie had ever seen. He didn't even look bleary eyed from his slumber.

"What's wrong?" he asked fixing her with a serious look.

"Lambent," she took a breath, "Locust."

He was on his feet in seconds, grabbing hold of his Lancer and holstering his Boltok. He planted a nudging kick in Miles' ribs to rouse him from his sleep.

"Gerrup Miles," he barked, "Grubs."

"They aren't Locust though, they're Lambent," she tried to explain, "like the Polyps but worse."

"Okay," he thoughtfully nodded, "you go get in position, take the window to the roof and back Wilks up, I'll get these two up."

Aidie perched on the broken window sill so she could hoist herself via several handholds to the roof of the church. She gripped hold of a jutting brick and levered her body to edge upwards, using every part of the crumbling building to assist her. She dropped flat to her stomach and shuffled across the roof till she could see the approaching creatures and instantly her view cast a more disturbing revelation.

Lambent Stalks had broken through the ground around them and the pulsing pods were spewing out even more brutal creatures than the Lambent Drones already surrounding them. Creatures with tentacles swaying as they spat out Imulsion. She had no clue where to start. She watched as the tentacled creature caught sight of her, letting out a gurgling roar and belching out a ball of Imulsion at her. She leapt to her feet and skidded down one side of the roof to avoid the shot. She edged back to the apex of the roof feet firmly planted either side and unhooked her Longshot from her back, raising the weapon upwards to track the beast. She blindly aimed letting off a shot at its head, the bullet ricocheted off it like she had been throwing beans. She took a step downwards as the creature jettisoned another Imulsion ball at her. Deciding on her next tactic she reattached her Longshot and took out her Gorgon, approaching closer this time she fired again at the creature. It screeched at her as she blasted at its bulging sac of Imulsion, flinging itself backwards each time she hit it. Suddenly its bulging eyes pulsed and its body started shaking as if it was about to explode, except the upper half of its body bust upwards and its arms mutated outwards.

In her shock Aidie slipped on a loose roof tile, sliding downwards until she caught herself on a jutting beam.

"Shit!" she cursed. Swinging herself back to her feet to avoid the creature as it started spewing Imulsion from its maw like mouth.

She edged cautiously up the apex again this time catching the creature before it could get her first. The bullets from her Gorgon stuttered outwards planting itself inside the beast as it started to scream. Building up confidence she moved closer along the roof towards it, aiming at the obvious weakness that hung and glowed below its chin. She watched as it started shaking and vibrating again then with a loud pop of Imulsion a head like snake slithered out of the destroyed body towards the others.

"Wilks!" she yelled downwards, peering over the roof ledge, "Behind you!"

Wilks twisted where he was standing to fire at the incoming creature. He blasted it to bits before he even knew what was coming at him.

"You okay?" he called up to Aidie briefly.

"Not really," came her response.

"Hang in there,"

Wilks returned fire on the Lambent Locust tearing it apart bit by bit until it exploded in its final crescendo. He had encountered an earlier stage of Lambency a few years earlier, but they had mainly been Locust that glowed. Now they had entered a completely different stage of hideousness.

On the ground they positioned themselves in an arc, giving each an advantage point where one may have missed. Miles currently favouring the Scorcher, which encouraged him to get closer to the action than Wilks would have liked, but the flaming weapon seemed to be doing the job. He watched as Miles mowed down the scuttling carpet of Polyps, leaving them screeching and twitching behind him. Both Cam and Archer were using Boltoks, although Archer had opted to dual wield his pistols. Despite the creatures pushing they worked hard to maintain their arc, knowing full well that the moment they fell back the Lambent would have the advantage.

A Lambent Drone staggered in front of them as a remnant of its brain splattered outwards, it kept moving forwards even with its brain hanging out of its skull. A yell of frustration behind him caused Wilks to glance backwards at Aidie perched on the roof with her Longshot held steadily in one arm as she aimed and fired again. This time successfully dropping the creature with her next shot.

"That's more like it!" she chirped reloading her weapon.

He leapt slightly backwards to avoid Miles jumping wildly at an injured Lambent Drone. He grabbed hold of it slamming it roughly to the ground where he jabbed the end of his Scorcher into its stomach and squeezed hard on the trigger. It wriggled and writhed as the flames licked at its insides. Quickly Miles leapt away as the flames reached the Imulsion filled core and the creature exploded. Miles drew back to Wilks with a joyful although singed smirk on his face.

"Miles that was just nasty," Wilks commented with a look of disgust.

"Yeah but so satisfying," Miles responded, "been wanting to do that for a while now, but those damn Polyps are so small."

"Remind me to book you in for counselling if we ever get through this alive,"

"And have Cam sit there shaking his head pretending to care, nah I get enough of that as it is,"

Wilks returned fire at the Lambent creatures, revving his chainsaw to descend upon them. He sliced down to their Imulsion filled core letting their insides spill out. He then sliced back at their heads letting them roll across the ground as the bodies dropped beside them.

"And you said I was disturbed!" Miles called over to him after cooking the insides of another mutated Lambent Drone.

"I was made like this Miles, you got like that all on your own,"

The pair looked back at each other momentarily before sharing a grin as they both descended upon the next Drone. Cutting through the stragglers until the field was a mass of Imulsion splattered body parts.

As they returned to the enclosure of the now destroyed courtyard they took in the look on Archer's face as he stared horrified at the Lambent Stalk. He shook his head apologetically as he tried to talk to the stone deities to no avail.

"What have they done?" he muttered sadly, "The Allfathers were never involved in this war."

"I don't think anyone has a choice as to who is involved anymore Archer," Miles told him flatly, "can we help at all?"

"Please," Archer sent him a slight pleading smile, "I can't move the Stalk but we could remove the bodies."

* * *

Whilst the Gears were busy with the Lambent, the Nightmares had already made their first move. Hidden from the Lambent attack they watched the battle unfold picking out the particular skills from each soldier so they knew which weakness to exploit. The Leader lowered himself behind a rock as he neared closer, unhooking a pair of binoculars from his belt and holding them to his eyes.

"No," he breathed darkly, "it can't be."

"Sir?" one of his men asked beside him.

He turned back to face his expectant followers, men all willing to die for him.

"We have faced a slight set back," he announced to them, "the rules have changed."

"What do you mean?" one questioned as he peered over the rock to gain a clearer look at their targets, "Okay so they all have weapons, but nothing we haven't seen before."

"I've dealt with some of these Gears in the past," He started to explain but changed his mind as the words left his mouth, "the girl is a problem. But she is also a weakness."

"So what are you suggesting?" his next in line queried, a man of similar age and experience to him named simply as Thaw.

"To take their leader down you need the girl,"

"I could shoot him from here," one suggested, "a quick headshot and he's down. He's not even wearing a helmet."

"No," The Leader reined in his anger, "there's a change of plan, I don't want you to kill these Gears. I want them alive, but I want their Leader to feel agony and suffering like he has never felt before, I want him begging me to end it for him."

Thaw eyed him curiously, "unfinished business?"

"Something like that," He responded with a grumble, "Take them alive, we'll take them back to the Professor to play with. Use as much force as needed."

He watched as his small group of chosen mercenaries separated around him, scrabbling around the dirt like the rats they had become. Their movements completely missed by their targets. Only their Sniper kept watch, which was why it was important that she was the first one they took down.

He could see his chosen two men pick their way to the building and scale it like vermin. They stopped mid climb to send him their signal. He drew his mask over his face and made his approach in the shadows.

* * *

Aidie watched from the roof, concentrating on something she thought she had seen in the distance. But each time she lifted her sights she couldn't see anything. A scuffling sound behind her diverted her attention and she edged to the location of the noise.

As she peered over the ledge of the roof she came face to face with a pair of disfigured eyes leering back at her. She let out a gasp and leapt backwards just as the other person scrabbled up behind her and flattened her to the roof with a heavy thump. She fought against him, kicking out with her legs enough to free herself and stagger across the tiles to alert her squad.

"Wilks! Behind you!" She screamed just as her attacker grabbed her, clamping their hand over her mouth and twisting her to her knees.

Wilks looked up too late just as a group of horrifically disfigured beings sprung from their hiding places. They acted with such stealth that no one was able to discharge their weapons in time. Two of the attackers disarmed Wilks, yanking hus Lancer from his grip, forcing him to fight them back with his fists. He threw a punch to the one to his left, just as he ducked a swipe from the one on the right and caught a blow to the stomach. His existing bruises throbbed and ached in response.

Miles thumped to the floor like a felled tree as an assailant took him down, blade against his neck. He hissed as he arched backwards, twisting round enough to knee his attacker backwards as he grasped hold of his Scorcher and blasted him in the face with flames.

Cam and Archer formed a surprisingly effective team, using their wits against their three attackers. Taking one down to use against them.

Aidie struggled against her assailants, one she had managed to kick away whilst the other dragged her to the ground off the roof, disarming her in the process. He sat astride her to pin her down whilst he pulled out his knife. He lowered his body closer to hers and gently ran his blade against her cheek, it was sharp enough to draw blood. She remained still as she lifted one knee up and reached downwards with the corresponding arm, slowly and carefully sliding out her own knife from her ankle strap in her boot. Just as he chuckled at the satisfaction of control she jabbed her blade into his inner thigh and sliced it upwards to make sure she lacerated the important blood vessels. Her attacker let out a gasp and jerked forward suddenly, his masked face glancing down at her in shock revealing the whites of his eyes. Blood squirting dramatically from him as she drew the knife out and slid it back in her ankle holster. He screamed as his buddy grabbed him and pulled him away from her, giving her enough time to stagger to her feet. She crept silently away from them, carefully taking steps backwards.

"Take one more step and I will kill you," A voice sounded behind her.

She turned to take in the Leader towering menacingly over her, dressed horrifically to instil fear in his victims. She let out a gasp and stumbled backwards in a bid to escape him. He caught her quickly, his heavy hands fumbling over her female frame as he forcibly dragged her to his men. She struggled a few times against him, but each time met his fist, thrown so hard she was starting to taste blood. She learnt quickly to submit for fear of being beaten to death. Resisting him longer than his other victims, staring defiantly into his disfigured skull masked eyes.

"You don't scare me," she spat, "you think you can hide behind those pathetic masks and scare everyone. Well you're wrong."

He slapped her so hard she let out a yelp, "shut the fuck up."

He roughly handed her to Thaw who pulled out his pistol and held it to her head then dragged her behind the Leader who emerged from his cover to address the Gears.

"Surrender," He yelled as his men retreated behind him to allow his introductions.

"I don't think you're in a position to be making demands here," Wilks responded.

"And neither are you,"

At his signal Thaw dragged Aidie out to reveal her for her squad to see. She tried her hardest to maintain her composure, blood dribbled down her forehead in defiance to her strength.

Wilks' eyes grew wide with fear as she gazed back apologetically at him.

"Aidie, are you okay?" He asked her, concern lacing his voice.

"Olly," she uttered ready to respond but received a clout in the face from the butt of the pistol to silence her.

"You touch her again and I'll fucking kill you," Wilks bellowed taking a step forwards ignoring the weapons aimed at his head.

The distraction was enough for one assailant to grab Miles by the arm and wrench it awkwardly backwards, it snapped with a loud crack. Miles screamed in agony, dropping to his knees in surrender. Cam and Archer both assessed the situation and dropped their own weapons, raising their arms to concede. Wilks stared back steely eyed at the Leader as he approached him.

"It looks like you are defeated COG,"

Wilks shook his head defiantly, "I am a soldier but the COG no longer exist. These are my family you've hurt. You kidnapped the women from our village and we have come to return them."

"You are in no position to negotiate soldier," the Leader responded, carefully assessing his position in their standoff, "besides the women are no longer with us. They've been taken elsewhere."

"What needs to be done to negotiate their return?" Wilks watched the Leader carefully, mirroring his movements so not to wrong foot himself.

"Your surrender will go a step to securing my compliance to start with. I will assess what needs to be done once we return you to our base as our prisoners." To ensure he had Wilks' full attention he made his way over to Aidie and grabbed her by her hair, dragging her roughly backwards until the Leader was standing face to face with Wilks with his knife pressed hard against Aidie's neck. "If you don't surrender I will hurt her so bad you'll be begging me to finish it."

Reluctantly Wilks thoughtfully nodded his head in agreement, dropped his weapons and held his hands out in surrender.

"Promise me you won't hurt them,"

As the Nightmares bound their captives up by their wrists the Leader spat.

"I promise nothing of the sort."


	9. Chapter 9 - Capture

**Author's Note -** Right guys here's the next chapter and expect a quick update as I have the next one all lined up for you.

* * *

 **Chapter Nine - Capture**

* * *

The Mercenaries led their captives through the barren wasteland of Sera, stopping to refill their canteens at a trickle of a stream. Each one taking their time to drink in the refreshment whilst their hostages watched with parched lips.

"Any chance you can fill ours up?" Miles asked, offering out his own canteen with his one good hand.

One Nightmare watched him thoughtfully before taking the container and filling with water. Then as he handed it to Miles he upended it over the acrid dirt at his boots, tossing the canister to the floor afterwards.

"Filthy COG," he spat, "You like to play with fire so much, no fucking water for you."

Miles stared back speechless, he glanced back at the others who silently watched the confrontation. Cam shuffled beside him on his bindings to place a hand on his companion's shoulder.

"Yer okay?" He asked quietly.

Miles shook his head indicating his broken arm which he held close to him in protection, "I'm a big boy Cam, I'm not going to show them my weakness. But it's the pain that's getting to me."

Wilks trudged to a halt, calling out to the Leader to alert him, "Hey."

The Leader stopped abruptly.

"One of my men is injured, he needs medical attention. If you can allow our medic to fix him up I would be grateful."

The Leader stalked down the line, eying up his prisoners till he reached Miles taking in his injuries. Eventually he indicated for one of his own men to attend, he carefully watched as his medic fixed Miles' arm into a sling and gave him a dose of some foul smelling liquid followed by a slug of water. As he returned back to the head of his group he gave Wilks a look before punching him heavily in his side. Wilks doubled over, stifling back a yelp as the Leader reeled him in by his chains till they were face to face.

"No one gives the orders except me. You're my prisoner now, act like one,"

* * *

The Nightmares continued walking, refusing to stop, rest or eat. None of them seemed to falter during their journey. Every so often they would pass across a meat jerky, each member chomping down and slurping the sustenance in as they followed it down with a gulp of water from their drinking canisters.

Aidie watched them chatter to each other as they ate and drank, they yanked on her binds to urge her forward as she had dropped back to the ends of her ties. Her stomach churned in contempt and she stumbled over her exhausted feet landing in a heap on the ground. The Nightmares cackled at her as they kept pulling her through the dirt face first. She rolled over onto her back and planted her feet heavily onto the ground to prevent them from humiliating her any further.

"Get up bitch!" one man rounded on her, heaving her to her feet and smacking her hard across the face.

She took the punishment and leered back at him with a look of contempt, spitting out a mixture of blood and saliva at his feet. His face flashed anger as he charged at her again, this time she was ready for him and one chained arm caught the blow as she clocked him quickly in the face with her own fist. He staggered backwards in shock, balling his fists ready to go at her again just as the Leader called him to stop.

"Chrysto, leave it. You can play with her when you get her back to base."

"The bitch killed my brother," he responded sharply, glaring back at her, "I need some retribution."

"And you can do it when we get back to base," the Leader dropped to the back of the group to walk beside Chrysto, taking hold of Aidie's binds and heaving her along with him, "we'll keep her for our own entertainment rather than donate her for the Professor's cause. It's been a while since we've had a pretty young thing to play with."

* * *

The Nightmares stopped at the base of a hill where a huge metal door was fitted into the landscape. As the Leader commenced unlocking the structure the Nightmares fixed hoods over the captives' heads.

Wilks resisted, "why now? What could there possibly be that you don't want us to see after leading us all the way here?"

The Leader grabbed the hood from one of his men and strapped it tightly over Wilks' head. He pulled the Gears so they were bunched close together, attaching the binds to each captive so they were connected to each other.

"Keep together and don't linger. There are monsters in the darkness,"

A cold unnerving stench filled the nostrils of each captive as they were led through the dark tunnels. They blindly felt their way into the darkness shuffling alongside each other. A sound of screaming echoed from somewhere in the distance, bouncing off the walls funnelling towards them. Even the Nightmares had gone silent as they made their way through the passageway. As they reached the foot of a flight of steps, each prisoner blindly edged their way upwards, feeling along the wall as they went until Wilks was the first to fall in a heap at the top of them. There were more voices now coming from nearby and the room seemed warmer.

Wilks found himself relying on his other senses, the sound of more men laughing in a larger room as they were led through it to a winding set of steps, this time he was able to feel out a banisters to aide him upwards. There was a sweet smell of fruit in the air and the unmistakable scent of men and meat.

He was the first one to be unhooded as they stripped him of his weapons, unchained him and thrust him into a cell overlooking a huge hall. He whirled back on himself, gripping the heavy metal bars to watch as they bundled each member of his squad into tiny cells. The Leader returned to Wilks, his mask still the only one in place now, his identity hidden from view.

"I'll send someone to look at your injured soldier shortly," he spoke gruffly, "sit tight and enjoy."

"What, watch as you debauch your way through the women from our village?"

"Jealous?"

"You sicken me,"

"You should count yourself lucky that I haven't chosen to keep that pretty whore of yours downstairs with my men. She'd keep us satisfied for hours,"

Wilks lunged out suddenly from the bars, grabbing hold of the Leader by the scruff of his neck and reeling him towards him. For a moment the Leader struggled, the whites of his eyes glinting from behind the hideous mask he hid behind. The men downstairs alerted at the sudden commotion were on their feet rushing upwards towards them.

"You fucking touch her and they'll be cleaning bits of you off that hallway floor for days. I'll kill you in such a brutal way, you would have wished never to have touched any of my family and I don't care how many of your men it takes to peal me off you!" He seethed between clenched teeth as they forcibly ripped Wilks away from their Leader.

He stepped back panting, momentarily humiliated at being outwitted by the captured soldier. Wilks' eyes flashed anger as he stalked to the back of his cell and stood watching him.

"Hmm we seem to have hit a nerve there gents," the Leader announced to his men as he plucked himself from their grip to approach him, tapping the bars with the blade of his sword, "watch it soldier I know your weakness."

Wilks snarled from the back of the cell, watching their every moves carefully as they left them in the darkness.

* * *

"I don't know why you're doing this?" The Leader demanded as he followed the Commander down the stone staircase towards the Professor's chambers.

She whirled round, twisting her fingers around her long hair to plait it back, and gave him a smile.

"Look at it this way, we need someone inside if those Gears are going to attempt a breakout. Those girls were so frantic when we led them back they never even noticed me. I'll gain their trust and they'll openly give me the information we need, plus if they do escape I can play a pretty convincing victim."

"What about Lem and the Professor? What's going to stop them from picking you as their next subject?" he asked giving her a concerned look, "I understand Lem I know him, but the Professor makes me nervous, I don't know his motives."

She reached out and placed a hand on his intact cheek, "You really need to be more trusting."

He took hold of her hand and kissed her palm lightly, "You are the only one I trust."

"Well then trust me on this. There's an empty cage next to the captives, it's the perfect opportunity to find out if they have any plans to escape. You leave the Professor to me, I'll be as safe as can be expected." she placed a hand on the door handle and braced herself, "Now punch me and make this look believable."

* * *

The Commander had arranged for Lem to bring food up to the Gears, Angelo skittered wildly beside him as he lugged up a box for the captives. Once he reached the top of the staircase he let Angelo loose from his leash so he could amble along the balcony to his heart's content. He could hear Angelo scampering in the darkness as he lit the first lamplight at the top of the stairs. Movement in the cells caused him to cheerily call out to the captives to alert them of a friendly presence.

"Hi, I bring food and water, don't worry I don't work for those brutes downstairs I represent the Professor. The gentleman who owns this building,"

Two hands gripped the bars of the first cell where the lamplight picked out the scars that arched down Wilks' face. Lem took a momentary step backwards before swinging the light further to adjust his view.

"Interesting establishment that keeps cells above a grand hall, especially this long into the Locust wars," Wilks growled from his cell.

"The cells are for your safety and ours," there was something about the soldier's face that reminded Lem of someone he used to know. Surely it wasn't possible this was the same man.

"What are you doing in those tunnels that seem to make those monstrosities downstairs fear you so much?" Wilks asked as he accepted a beaker of water from Lem.

Angelo hurled himself towards Lem in a flurry, tugging on his leg before stopping momentarily to stare back at Wilks. He awkwardly pulled himself to a full stand and sized himself up against the captive behind the bars. Blinking at him then scampered away again.

"What was that?"

"That's Angelo. He's the reason I'm here. I'm trying to find a cure for him, he's turning Lambent,"

"Angelo?... I know that name." Wilks drew himself up against the bars to reveal himself fully to Lem, the indicator lights on his armour depicting his features a little clearer for him, "did you once live in a Compound a few hundred miles from Jacinto until it sank into the Hollows."

Lem frowned taking a step back in uncertainty, "how... how do you know that?"

"I helped get you to Jacinto,"

The realisation hit like a bullet, "Sergeant Wilks?"

The soldier smiled back at him, "Hey kid."

"What about Aidan?" Lem uttered her name softly, "The last I saw of her was back in Jacinto when she left us. Did she ever find you?"

"You should look down the line," Wilks indicated to the rest of his squad.

Angelo yipped to him again as he sat in front of a cell further down. A small voice called to him in the darkness.

"Lem is that you?"

"Aidan?" Lem rushed over to the location of the voice and angled the lamp towards the cell, "praise the Allfathers you _are_ still alive. I always wondered whether you made it that day in Jacinto, when they sank the city."

"I'm still here,"

"What are you doing here, Aidan?" he hissed, "These people are dangerous."

"They took the women from the village we protect. They brutally attacked a member of our squad, killed his children and kidnapped his girlfriend. We've come here to bring them back Lem."

"I'm afraid that's not possible,"

Lem turned back to his box and continued distributing the food and water to them.

"I don't understand," Aidie responded, ignoring the offer of food.

"Humans are turning Lambent, Aide. It's not just Rustlung anymore, it's something a lot more horrific," he placed a hand on Angelo's head and ruffled his balding tufts of hair as he looked back at him through his muzzle, "look at Angelo and tell me you wouldn't do the same thing to save the life of the person you love."

The captives silently each approached the bars to stare at the creature who had once been a teenage boy. No part of him reflected any emotion or recognition in his movements except to follow his handler loyally around.

"Find another way," Aidie begged quietly.

"Why don't you come with me then, maybe you'll understand what we're trying to do if I show you,"

He retrieved a ring of brass keys from his pocket and fiddled with them in the cell door until he found the one that opened it. As he pulled the door back he hesitated for a moment, picking up the chains from the wall and wondering whether he should be chaining her up. As if she could sense his caution she spoke up.

"Lem I'm not going to make a run for it, I have no reason to escape,"

He glanced back at her squad behind bars and particularly at Wilks at the far end who watched them carefully and silently from the darkness. As long as her biggest incentive to stay was locked up behind bars he had no reason to worry.

He led her along the balcony, glancing down to look over the Nightmares as he did so to ensure they were unaware of his actions. Then pressing a handle on the wall which opened up a doorway that led to a spiral staircase hidden within the walls. The stairs opened out to the courtyard where Angelo pranced and skittered around in the dimming light and followed them to the huge glass house where the peach trees grew.

Aidie stopped to take in the trees, gazing upwards at nature thriving despite the desolation around it.

"Wow, I've only ever read about these in books," she said in wonder.

Lem smirked back at Angelo who was by his side watching every move she made.

"They taste good too actually, the Professor has a lot of pride in his peaches,"

"Didn't think anything grew in Sera anymore,"

"You'd be surprised what survives out here,"

She glanced over to take him in for the first time in the daylight, "what happened to you Lem? You look so... so different."

Lem clenched his teeth and swallowed, running a subconscious hand over his head, shaved to a stubble. He had lived two years never really having to think about himself, he had no reason to, as his time and attention had gone on finding a cure for his friend. He then took in the girl he had known since childhood. Clearly a grown woman now, showing all the obvious curves with muscles in her arms and legs from her training. The last time he had seen her she had been a teenage girl making a choice for her future and here she finally stood a Gear in all her splendour, and she suited it. Clearly a life as a soldier had been a good decision for her.

"Ah, I had to umm trim a few hairs after a few incorrect experiments,"

"Experiments, Lem what the hell?"

"I'm doing everything in my power to help Angelo, Aide, look at him, but it isn't without risk. He has these moments where he doesn't know who he is or who I am and just goes into a mad rage,"

She frowned, inspecting the being that Angelo had become. He stared blankly back at her through his muzzle as she did so. Then slowly she dropped to her knees and offered a hand out to him.

"Gelo, do you remember me?" she asked him quietly watching as he cautiously edged to her "It's me, Aidan."

Angelo tilted his head and approached her, circling her to take her in. She sat silently as he prodded and poked her, flinching as he touched upon her bruises and cuts on her face. He placed a hand against her cheek momentarily before darting to her hair and sniffed intently at the strands, she let out a slight laugh as she looked back at him in amusement.

"Angelo?" Lem asked him, confused at these new movements.

Eventually Angelo ended up sitting opposite Aidie thoughtfully studying her face, trying to look through the bruises. Suddenly he made a move for her, Lem lunged forward in case he lashed out but Aidie was ready for him. She took him into her arms for an embrace. Lem watched in shock as Angelo melted into her arms as Aidie closed her eyes to hug an old friend back.

"That's never happened before,"

Angelo leapt backwards, sending Lem a beaming smile and darted around the glass house in excitement. She rose to her feet, dusting the dirt off her knees to smile back at Lem.

"What happened to you?" he spoke in wonder, "This isn't who I remember."

"I grew up Lem."

He shook his head, watching the new lease of life flowing through his best friend as he yipped and leapt around them. He made a move to continue walking through the trees towards the door for the Laboratory.

"You know we looked for you at the Rendezvous point," he said quietly, "we wanted to make sure you had made the right choice."

"We didn't stay long," she answered simply, "but you needn't have worried. I was safe."

"Shame the same couldn't have been said for Frost,"

A look of concern crossed her face, "How was he?"

"You broke him Aide, he opened himself to you, heart and soul and you threw it back at him. And we were left to pick up the pieces,"

"It was never my intention Lem, believe me I thought he was stronger than that" she was confused at Lem's sudden turn in behaviour towards her.

"You ditched him for those Gears and didn't even give him a second thought did you? Every part of him died the moment you left him for them."

"I thought leaving him would be better for him in the long run," She had left Frost in the hope that he would have thrived without her having to hold him back. She had never considered the contrary.

"That's your problem though, _you_ thought."

She frowned, "Hang on a second Lem. The alternative was me living a life I didn't want, with a man I no longer understood. I was allowed a choice and I'm sick of justifying my decisions to people."

"Don't you understand, we lost him Aidan." Lem blurted angrily at her.

"What?" she felt a thud in the pit of her stomach.

"So I hope you're happy with your little life because it was at Frost's expense,"


	10. Chapter 10 - Changes

**Author's Note -** As promised a rather prompt chapter release. Not entirely an action filled chapter but there's a lot of information thrown around.

Good news looking further ahead is that I'm about a chapter or two from completing this and I'm currently playing around with ending possibilities. So we won't be struggling for chapter releases for a short while. On the other hand I have reached a particularly frustrating part in a chapter which is making me want to procrastinate like hell. Bare with me, this beast will be completed I promise.

* * *

 **Chapter Ten - Changes**

* * *

The corridors were dank and heavy with the stench of rotting humans. Lem led her silently through the dungeons, walking her past cells and cells of Formers. She hesitated, staggering backwards a moment to take in the atrocities surrounding her.

"What... what are these?" she asked in horror as one tried to reach out and grab her from behind.

Angelo made a swipe at them to keep them at bay, growling in warning.

"This is what I was trying to explain to you, these were humans once," Lem told her.

"Human?" she glanced back at them and watched as they screeched from their cages, reaching out to them, Imulsion dripping from open orifices.

"Humans are starting to mutate into these Formers once they have been exposed to enough Imulsion to make their bodies change,"

"So you mean this is similar to what's happening to Angelo... he'll turn into one of them?" she glanced down at Angelo who had taken to walking on all fours, he looked glassy eyed up at her and let out a cough.

"Eventually," Lem turned away to hide his hurt from her, "which is why we are doing what we're doing to find a cure."

She drew up to him, "I don't remember you having a vast scientific knowledge Lem?"

"The Professor and I are working for joint purposes, we both have the same reasons behind our actions,"

"So, what? You think turning more humans Lambent will help you find a cure for Gelo?" Angelo leaned against her to rub his head against her hand, as he pulled away she retrieved a palm full of human hair, "You can't reverse this Lem, don't you remember what they said back at the Compound when they found out about Gelo's Rustlung."

"You sound like everyone else," Lem snapped grabbing hold of Angelo's collar, "I haven't given up on him."

"Look at him Lem, he's a human not a dog, surely you wouldn't want this life for him,"

"Why do you think the COG cast us out Aidan!" Lem whirled round and shouted at her, "I wanted to be on that Raven to Vectes, I wanted to be seated right next to your brother but Angelo had become too different to be anywhere near people. They wanted to execute him Aidan, so we ran, we ran as far away as we could go. I would happily turn every COG soldier Lambent if it meant finding a cure for him."

"Shit Lem can you hear yourself?"

As they reached the cells where the women were held, huddled together clinging onto each other weeping openly. Aidie grabbed Lem by the arm to force him to look at them.

"These aren't COG soldiers Lem, these are heavily pregnant Stranded women and their midwives. Where's your reasoning here?"

"Women of a reasonable breeding age are responding positively to our treatments, we need them,"

"Well, I fit your profile more so than they do. I fit your age profile, I'm a healthy female capable of providing children and I'm a Gear, what more could you want. Let them go Lem and keep me for your trials."

"Seriously you'd swap yourself for those women?" he looked at her as if she was insane, "What happened to the Aidan that was only out for herself?"

"I saw a bigger picture, look Lem I took an oath to protect these people. We came here to return them to their families. You and Gelo can come with us too, we'd never cast you out,"

"Mr. Woods?" A deep authoritative voice sounded from behind them making them both jump.

Aidie turned to see an older man dressed in a white coat, he wore a face mask to protect him from the Imulsion fumes seeping through the cracks around them. In one hand he held a dismembered arm, it dripped Imulsion instead of blood from the stump. She took a step back away from him only to find Lem standing in the way.

"I'm assuming you're the Professor Lem told me about," she responded in an attempt to steel her nerves.

The Professor eyed her for a moment before responding, "I was notified about the squad of Gears the Nightmares had captured. Didn't expect to have a willing specimen amongst them."

"There's nothing willing about this situation,"

"Mr Woods put her in the cell with the other women, she'll make a perfect test subject for the serum,"

She felt Lem's grip on her arm and didn't even bother to struggle. She let him open the cell door and push her in, turning to watch him lock it after her.

"You're my family too Lem," she told him firmly, "I won't give up on either of you."

* * *

He avoided her eye contact and turned away from her, following behind the Professor like a wounded dog. Angelo glanced between Lem and Aidie behind the bars, trying to figure out what had happened before eventually following his friend out.

It took a while for the women to unfurl themselves from their protective huddle, which meant that Aidie sat alone staring down the tunnel in silence, plotting her next moves. Eventually an older woman approached her, reaching a shaking hand out at her.

"You came for us?" she asked nervously, Aidie recognised her as one of the midwives who had helped deliver Sofie's last child.

As Aidie took in her expression she smiled slightly, "perhaps I am more useful helping you out of this place than providing Sera with offspring."

"Thank you,"

"It's my job to get you home safely," she told them all, "Sergeant Wilks wouldn't rest until Burn relented. And trust me it took a lot of persuading, your leader is a stubborn man."

"That sounds like my dad," a young woman situated in the centre of the huddle responded, a similar age to Aidie and still heavily pregnant.

Aidie rose to her feet and approached her, "You must be Archer's Niece, he's here with us, he came to help. It was actually your Uncle that persuaded Burn,"

The young women smiled, "Uncle Archer has always been my hero. I'm Camille and this is my mum Emma, you're that female Gear I've seen around the village."

"That sounds about right, I'm Aidie. Nice to meet you both, Archer has told me a lot about you," she smiled at the woman who sat protectively beside Camille who looked strikingly like her brother. She then took a quick glance around at the other women to realise that Camille was the only one still pregnant, "how are you feeling Camille?"

"So so, my baby chose to remain stubborn and stay indoors for the meanwhile. The others weren't so lucky though." Camille indicated the two girls weeping uncontrollably in the corner of the cell.

"You tell it to take its time," Aidie reached out and took hold of Camille's hand, squeezing it slightly, "I'm going to get you out of here."

"How?" a harsher voice behind her made Aidie turn to reveal Sofie standing behind her with her hands on her hips and a look of pure hate on her face, "What makes you so special?"

Aidie stood to address Sofie, the pair had never seen eye to eye from the moment she had joined Wilks' squad. Now was no exception.

"Let's face it Sofie, do you have a plan to get yourself out of here?" at her silence Aidie smirked, "I didn't think so."

"I bet you don't either,"

"Why do you always second guess me?" Aidie took a step towards her, being a few years younger she was distinctly shorter than this attractive woman. Sofie had frequently taken great joy in using her height to her advantage, much to Aidie's disgust.

"What's left for me Aidie, let's face it, if you do get us out of this hell hole and passed those creatures what the hell is left for me. I've lost everything."

"Sofie, Tate is alive," she told her firmly, "we're here because he made his way back to us. He's a hero and I'm going to bloody make sure you get home to him."

Sofie seemed visibly shaken, her eyes wide in shock, face white. She staggered backwards till she was against the bars of the cell and dropped to the floor.

"I thought they'd killed him for sure," she muttered, "they left him in a pool of blood beside our babies."

Aidie approached her, taking to her knees to face her, "Tate got back to us in a bad way, they had done a number on him and he'd lost a lot of blood. Cam worked all night to stabilise him so we could get you back to him."

Sofie gazed at her with eyes filled with tears, deep green emeralds glinted back. Eventually she whispered, "Tate is the only one who knew, it's only early days, but I'm pregnant. So I need to get home to him."

Aidie nodded slowly, "I will do everything in my power."

* * *

The Commander watched and listened to the conversation from the neighbouring cage, offering advice and suggestions to the scared women. Eventually Aidie drew close to the bars to face her.

"I'm Aidie," she smiled offering out a hand of friendship.

The Commander hesitated a moment, playing her moment to perfection before accepting it, "Freja."

"How did you end up here?"

"I was scavenging in the wilderness, looking for scraps when these horrific looking freaks captured me and dragged me back here. They kept me locked up and raped me at their will, the Professor found me and took me down here. Locked away in another hell but arguably better," a tear perfectly timed its way down her cheek, "I just want to go home now."

"Look we're getting out of here, come with us," Aidie offered.

"You'd do that? But you don't even know me?"

"No but faced between staying here and escaping I know what my choice would be,"

Thoughtfully Freja nodded, a smile spreading across her face, "yes. I'll come with you."

* * *

They sat in silence for a while, listening as the Scientist entered every so often to fetch a Former to torture further. Most of the women returned to their tight huddle of protection. Only Aidie and Sofie sat apart. They both lay against the bars, one with her knees drawn to her chest the other leant fully against the cell.

Aidie was aware of Sofie watching her, as if for the first time she was actually taking her in and assessing her.

"I'm not a bad person you know," Sofie spoke to her finally, "all you know about me is what Ollyvar's told you."

"Actually he told me very little about you," Aidie responded cautiously, "a lot of what I know came from Tate."

Sofie took in the answer and considered it, "there's a lot I haven't even told Tate myself."

"I don't quite understand,"

"Ollyvar's accident was the worst thing that happened to the both of us. He had become very argumentative before everything happened, violent almost. His father was getting to him and he was struggling to find a way out. When his squad returned that day half of them were in body bags and the other half the walking wounded. I'll never forget the moment I cast my eyes upon him half of his face was hanging off and his body was a mess. He pushed _me_ away Aidie, not how he wants you to believe."

Aidie turned to look at Sofie, frowning at her, she had to admit this had piqued her interest.

"I went to that infirmary every day begging to see him, but he kept refusing me. The one time I was able to catch a glance he was in a drug addled sleep. He had been destroyed, his face and body were a complete mess. He kept screaming out in his sleep, trying to attack monsters he couldn't even see. I never had the heart to tell him that I had miscarried his child."

"What?" a knot formed in the pit of her stomach.

"I would have stayed with him regardless Aidie, the scars were horrific and it changed the way I looked at him, but I would have stayed. There was something about him that was different, when he finally came round he was a different person, haunted, brooding, lost even. I decided there and then to never tell him the truth. My heart broke as I mourned for my lover and my unborn child."

"You took your time grieving considering it wasn't long before you fell pregnant again, wow you must have been mourning in Tate's bed,"

"If only you knew the man Ollyvar once was. His father was a strict man, all our meetings had been in secret. Tate was the one who had saved me a long time ago, I had always been Tate's, but Ollyvar had wanted what wasn't his. He desired what he couldn't have. He did it because I was forbidden and I did it because I thought I actually cared for him. It was so hard losing him because I couldn't show anyone how I really felt."

"I don't understand why you never told Wilks you were expecting in the first place,"

"You don't think it was something I felt guilty about? Because I hated myself for months. I knew if I had told him he would have done something stupid like propose, which would have pissed his father off so much that he would have kicked him out of his squad. It would have meant that he would never have been there when the Wretch attacked and his father would have lived. But then he would never have been at your Compound to rescue your family and you very likely wouldn't be sitting here right now. I keep thinking about the repercussions behind my actions and sometimes I regret them. Things could be so different." Sofie let out a sigh before continuing, "I even considered approaching Ollyvar when he returned after rescuing you, but it was so obvious that he was over me and so in love with you. There was no going back. Don't get me wrong I love Tate, I had Tate's children. But there will always be a part of me that keeps thinking what if."

Aidie had no clue how to respond to Sofie's revelation, it answered so much of her hostility, it explained so much. And yet all she could think of was the effect it had on Wilks.

"I don't get why you would hide something so huge as losing a child from him, especially considering how he has been lately about you and Tate having children."

"He had his chance," Sofie had grown tired of opening up at the mention of her children, "He chose you. You'd better hurry up and make your move before he hooks onto the next poor unfortunate sap, it feeds into his hero complex quite nicely. That was something that never changed."

"Wilks is going nowhere, two years of sharing his bed at least taught me something," Aidie felt her guard raise the moment Sofie's attitude changed, "I dealt with the fall out of his accident, I helped him through every scream filled nightmare. He trusts me."

"So did anything more happen between you two?" Sofie asked, "Tate was always so tight lipped about it."

"He's my Sergeant, my mentor and my closest friend. I will trust and respect him as my partner until the day I die,"

She squinted at her in distaste, "you're as bad as he is."

Aidie shrugged, "you asked."

She turned to face away from the woman who would never change her attitude.

* * *

Hidden in the darkness Angelo watched and listened to the women, somewhere in the recess of his brain he felt an unexplainable feeling for the blonde girl, but he couldn't quite understand it. From the moment she had embraced him he had taken in every movement and word that was uttered from her mouth trying to work her out. He waited and watched until she eventually chose to rest her eyes. He slunk unseen quietly through the shadows and passed closely by her to catch a hint of her scent. His brain kicked out as a vacant memory flashed inside him; a gentle hand reaching out to take his when he cowered in the dark outside a huge Compound wall.

He scampered away into the darkness to allow himself to process this image. How did he know this strange feminine human. She looked like the other pitiful women in the cells, but there was something about her.

An unconscious thought inside him encouraged him to flee down the tunnels to find further proof, as long as he remained unseen the Nightmares would be none the wiser of his presence. Besides Lem was too busy with the Professor hurting the creatures he had started to feel compassion for. He made his way up the spiral staircase towards the balcony that overlooked the Grand Hall. The cells were shrouded in darkness but he could sense the humans inside.

He followed the scent until he stood directly opposite the cell belonging to the man with the scars, somehow he was connected to the girl downstairs.

He placed a haggard hand against the bars and whined lightly until he gained the attention of the occupant inside.

* * *

Wilks stirred to the sound of scratching and a slight whimper. Half expecting to be confronted with another Wretch he prepared himself, only to see a shadow sat in the darkness outside his cell. He shuffled on all fours until he was facing the figure, the indicator lights on his armour lent a slight illumination to reveal Angelo sitting staring back at him.

"You," he grunted, "What do you want? Where's Aidie?"

Angelo tilted his head slightly in recognition, it unnerved Wilks to see a human act in such animalistic ways. He reached out to place a deformed hand against his own, attempting to stretch his fingers out along the longer handspan of the Gear. Wilks noticed him frown slightly then look back at him. He pursed his lips to make a sound.

"Ooo," Angelo pointed to him, "ooo."

"Do you remember me Angelo?" Wilks asked, he could see an ounce of humanity trying to emerge from the Lambent riddled human, "My name is Olly. I helped you and your friends to Jacinto."

A sudden look of fear flicked through Angelo's face as he took in the Gear's armour and horrific memories suddenly flooded him. He backed away and clamped his hands over his head to fight off the images. He kept seeing big groups of men trying to hurt him, holding him down whilst Lem kept screaming his name. A gun held to his head whilst the men chanted in encouragement. A gun was fired but it wasn't him bleeding it was the man who wanted to kill him, and holding a weapon was another disfigured human. His face melted away on one side, he shouted to him. Run.

Wilks had read the situation quickly and had stripped all his armour off and stood at full height arms held out in surrender.

"Angelo look at me," he called quietly, "I am a friend."

Eventually he pealed his hands from his head to take in the man in the cell, arms held out wearing only a t-shirt and combat trousers. Around him his armour plates were strewn on the floor. He placed a hand on his chest and then offered the hand to him.

"Friend."

Angelo blinked, shuffling slowly towards him, assessing the potential threat. He opened his mouth before hoarsely uttering words he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Eenndd," he breathed heavily, "Ffrrend."

"Yes," Wilks smiled back at him, "I am a friend."


	11. Chapter 11 - The Creature Within

**Author's Note** \- So here we go another chapter, another step closer to the release of Gears 4, no pressure... We may have a slight overlap. Hang on in there.

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven - The Creature Within**

* * *

"Yer an idiot," Cam commented sharply to Wilks as he watched Angelo scamper off into the darkness.

"Yes but I'm an ingenious idiot," Wilks strapped his armour plates back on, "either way we need someone on the inside to help us get out of these cells. Those Nightmares are too loyal to their leader to stray, the boy too dedicated to his cause. Which leaves..."

"...the creature." Cam finished.

"You can't trust it Ol, the thing is going Lambent, look at it," Miles added from his cell.

"He was human once and I think he partly believes it as well, why on Sera would he come to me if there wasn't some part of him that recognised me."

"Maybe he thought you were his next snack," Archer opted for his input.

"You're all very funny, Aidie would have believed me,"

"Which begs the question, where is she?" Archer asked glancing at the empty cell beside him.

"I'm assuming they've put her with the women," Wilks answered, "Which is where she needs to be, if she's with them then at least they know we're here."

"In cages though Ol," Miles kicked at the bars in frustration, "we're not going anywhere behind bars and those 'things' downstairs are not going to be giving us an easy run. Especially after the number you played on their leader."

"Which is why we need Angelo,"

"How the mighty have fallen when we need to rely on the Lambent," Cam grunted.

"How else are we gonna break out Cam? They covered our heads so we couldn't see our way in or out, took away our weapons and locked us in cells. I am running low on suggestions here so I'm willing to consider the absurd right now."

Cam nodded thoughtfully, staring out into the darkness, deliberating over their next step.

"Yer think he can get our weapons?"

"It'll be a tall order but if I earn his trust it might be a possibility,"

"His owner friend had keys, I wonder whether we can persuade him to break us out as well?" Archer suggested.

"The boy won't do it unless he has incentive, which is why we're relying on Angelo,"

A sound of footsteps on the stairs alerted the squad to the approach of the Nightmares, the one called Thaw gave them a look.

"I heard voices, what's going on?"

"We were just discussing knitting patterns," Wilks answered sharply, "didn't realise that it wasn't allowed."

"That wasn't what it sounded like," Thaw held his lamp light up to Wilks to assess the cell, he then walked the line to check the others stopping at Aidie's open cell, "where's the girl?"

"We thought you knew, she left with your scientist friend,"

"Not again," he muttered, "that boy keeps stealing all the decent ones."

He whirled round to the prisoners in their cages, clattering the hilt of his knife against the bars as he walked past.

"Keep your voices down, we're trying to sleep down there. If you persist in making noises I'll have to house you with the Formers, that'll keep you quiet for certain."

He scaled the stairs in the darkness and left them alone.

* * *

In the early hours of the morning Camille went into labour and there was nothing the women could do to slow the process. A few hours later a small bawling baby was born into the world, leaving a weakened Camille clinging to her child with a renewed fear.

The Formers had picked up the scent of new human deliciousness and had started screaming and charging hungrily at their cells, bending the bars the more they charged. Their screeches filled the tunnels as it echoed down into the darkness.

The women had become hysterical, scrabbling together in fear. The baby howled and mewled, discovering its lungs as its mother wept uncontrollably in terror.

Aidie stood watching the whole thing, trying to work out how to ease the situation. Both Camille, her child and her mother had been pushed aside as some of the women had turned aggressive towards one another. They were struggling and writhing against each other to hide from the monsters nearby, scratching and biting and clawing.

Then Aidie realised that it wasn't the fear that was turning the women violent, it was the reaction they were having to the serum they had been injected. The Imulsion fumes weren't helping either.

She made her way to Camille and dropped to her knees opposite her.

"Camille, how are you feeling?" she asked her calmly.

"She's not good," Emma explained placing a hand on her daughter's head in concern, "she's got a fever."

"I feel sick," Camille wept twitching away from her mother, "my head hurts. It feels like there's something still inside me."

"Okay," she glanced down at the naked baby in her arms, surprised that no one had offered to wrap the child up. Although Emma seemed preoccupied looking after her daughter over the baby in her arms. She slipped her holster over her shoulders so she could take off her own cardigan, "Camille do you mind if I wrap your baby up?"

"Take her!" Camille all but threw the child into Aidie's arms. She grabbed hold of the baby and wrapped it with her tattered cardigan quickly, using the arms to tie it around her securely. Camille had dropped into a ball and had started clawing at her stomach. Emma dropped beside her talking to her quietly

Aidie stepped back slightly only to find Sofie standing nearby watching the scene.

"She's hungry," she said matter of fact, "she needs to feed her."

"I don't think that's even possible right now," Aidie commented, glancing down at the crying baby, "how are you feeling Sofie?"

"I'm okay, considering,"

"Don't feel like clawing at your body or ripping me apart at all?"

"No more than usual," Sofie gave her a look, "are you insane?"

"Possibly," she then offered the baby to Sofie, "Can you look after her for a moment whilst I see if I can bring Camille round."

"Sure, but if her mother isn't successful I doubt you will be," Sofie's maternal instinct instantly kicked in as she drew the baby close to her.

"And Sof, stay away from the Imulsion fumes,"

"Why?"

"Just humour me, okay,"

"You even sound like him now," she grumbled as she moved away with the baby, cooing to it gently.

Aidie sat down close to Camille, "Camille, can you hear me?"

Camille grunted as she pulled up her top to scratch at her swollen belly, "It's inside me."

Emma frowned at her, "what is darling? There's nothing there."

"It's okay, you've just had a baby, it's natural to feel that way." Aidie attempted to offer some kind of reassurance

It was times like this that Aidie wished that she had more experience to help her or that one of the midwives were of a sound mind to ease the poor girl.

"I'm gonna be sick," Camille retched, dropped on all fours and vomited, the result made Aidie leap to her feet in horror.

Camille was throwing up Imulsion.

"No!" Aidie gasped she backed away only to hear a voice behind her in the tunnels.

"She's ready,"

She turned to see the Professor watching the scene from the tunnels, face mask on hiding his features.

"You!" she shouted, "You did this to her?"

"Interesting, she held off the transformation until the baby arrived," he pondered as he unlocked the cell door.

Lem appeared awkwardly behind him with Angelo by his side silently watching.

"You're a monster!" she kept her distance as the Professor entered the cell to retrieve the heaving body that once belonged to Camille. Her mother fought against him to protect her, screaming at him in anger, but he pushed her backwards like she was nothing more than a weak child.

Camille screamed and thrashed around as the Professor hooked a chain around her neck and dragged her out.

"Come on sweetheart, it's time for your treatment."

Angelo dropped behind Lem's legs to watch as the woman's screams turned more and more violent.

"I'd be careful if I were you," the Professor addressed Aidie as he locked the cage, "it won't be long before those other women start expressing the same tendencies. Nothing worse than a horde of monstrous women."

He chuckled to himself as he led the screeching Camille behind him. Lem and Angelo remained momentarily.

"Lem," Aidie called to him, desperately trying to seek some sort of compassion, "what else did you do to them? How long before they're all like her?"

"What's to say that they aren't already like that." Lem commented, "maybe they hid it better than her."

"She was pregnant Lem," she clutched the bars, "her father is our village leader, you know that."

"Look Aide, it's something we have to do, okay,"

"She's my age Lem and you just...just destroyed her," she then addressed Angelo, "Is this really what you want Gelo? Do you really want to rip apart these humans to find your cure?"

"He won't answer you," Lem stepped in front of Angelo to prevent him from catching her glance, "he doesn't have a say in this."

"How long before the fumes start to affect me Lem?" she asked, "how long before I'm vomiting Imulsion and tearing my hair out?"

Lem turned away from her to face Angelo who sat staring loyally back at him, he mumbled his response guiltily, "I don't know."

"If this is payback for Frost, you really have reached an all new low."

"You volunteered remember,"

The women in the corner of the cell had unfolded themselves from their protective huddle, every single one of them now showing the indications of Lambency. They snarled and growled as they caught sight of Aidie, Sofie and Emma.

Aidie turned to Lem, trying to hide the terror in her voice as she gripped the bars tighter and offered out her tags to him, pressing them into his palm.

"At least tell Wilks, Lem, you owe him at least that,"

"We'll see," he slowly plodded away refusing to acknowledge the danger she was facing, "c'mon Angelo."

As they left, the sounds of panicked women screaming filled the tunnels finishing with a desperate howl of a new born baby.

* * *

"We need to talk," Lem addressed the Leader as the Nightmares gathered for their hunting session.

"I'm busy Lem, you can see that," the Leader had been sharpening his blade on a grindstone situated in the courtyard.

"It's about Aidan,"

The Leader paused briefly, "I'm listening."

"You never told me that you found her,"

"It was unintentional trust me. The plan was to kill the lot of them, should have done it before I knew who it was."

"Does she even know?"

"Of course she doesn't, what do you think I am, stupid,"

"There's something else,"

The Leader looked up at him from behind his mask, he seemed to be wearing it more and more these days which was starting to concern Lem.

"The women have all turned Lambent,"

"Which means what exactly?"

"I don't know really, it depended on the individual, but I had never seen it happen that quickly. We've all been exposed to those fumes, but we're all mutating at a different rate. You for example..."

"I'm perfectly aware of the effect on me Lem," the Leader interrupted him sharply.

"The Professor thinks he's almost there for a cure though, he has a serum he plans to use to see its effectiveness on the mutation. If it works we can cure Angelo, if it doesn't..."

"So you're saying that I should be notifying the prisoners that their women are all dead."

"You brought them here to help us achieve a purpose, it's not my fault that Aidan was mixed up with them."

Lem dropped Aidan's COG tags to his companion's feet, the Leader stared at them silently for a moment before nodding thoughtfully.

"I'll have a word after we return from our hunt, I don't feel like talking to them with the need for blood filling my senses."

* * *

Whilst the Nightmares were out hunting and Lem had returned to the Professor, Angelo had opted to stray back to the captives. The sunlight struggled to shine through the grimy windows but it was enough to light up the room and the half human. He yipped as he plonked himself down opposite Wilks' cell to await their next meeting.

Wilks had been sitting silently for a while listening to the chatter of the Nightmares in the room below, picking out certain voices amongst them. It took him a while to realise that Angelo was watching him. He turned slowly to see the part Lambent human, who was glowing slightly in the sun, stare back at him.

"Angelo," he acknowledged him with a smile, making sure that his movements were concise and clear so that Angelo wouldn't misread him, "I hope you are okay."

Angelo tilted his head and gave him a smirk of agreement.

"Angelo are you able to tell me whether the girl that arrived with me is safe."

He squinted slightly as if in thought then shuffled close to the bars, "No."

"No she isn't safe or no you can't tell me?"

"No,"

Wilks balled his fists slightly in frustration and on noticing Angelo flinch suddenly at his movements he unclenched his hands so they were open to him.

"Aidan is my family, I want to make sure she's safe,"

It was at this moment that Angelo wished he could vocalise the words that were flowing around his brain. But the synapses in his head had been messed up so much that all he could do was mumble a string of nonsensical gibberish.

"Baby," was the only word that allowed itself out of his lips that made any sense.

Wilks frowned at him, "what?"

On realising that something he had said actually made sense he sat back with a satisfied smile and reaffirmed Wilks' fears.

"Baby,"

Cam cleared his throat from the neighbouring cell as if in reminder that Wilks should be concentrating on the important matters. He glanced back at him and gave him a nod.

"Yes, yes I'm getting to it Cam," he responded sharply.

"We don't have all day Wilks,"

"I'm perfectly aware," he dropped to his knees again so he was level with Angelo and shuffled closer to the bars of the cell, "Angelo."

The boy tilted his head in recognition.

"I'm gonna be honest with you kid, we need you to get us out of here. We're gonna rescue the women we came for and we're going to escape. We need our weapons and we need a way out of our cells. I really need you to help us,"

Angelo frowned, "Lem?"

"We won't hurt your friend, I promise," Wilks placed a hand on his heart in oath, "I cannot say the same for the creatures that took us prisoner however."

Angelo nodded thoughtfully.

"So we're going to need a key to get us out and our guns. Do you think you can help us?"

A voice downstairs alerted Angelo, it was Lem calling for him. Without even acknowledging the Gears he scampered off down the stairs.

"Do you think it worked?" Miles asked after they sat in silence.

"I bloody hope so," Wilks responded.

* * *

The Leader ascended the stairs with a Locust carcass over his shoulder. He dropped it at the foot of the cell door and waited till all captives had his attention.

"Gentlemen, your lunch has arrived,"

"I'm afraid Locust doesn't appeal to my palate," Wilks was the first to rise to the bait, as expected.

"Oh it isn't?!" he feigned shock, "Oh well, we have a nice roast going over the spit at the moment, no ounce of Locust on her. You're welcome to share."

Wilks watched the Leader carefully, holding back his temper.

"But she's a little on the lean side personally, so not much to share, here have some," he threw a human arm through the bars and watched as Wilks took in the features and leapt backwards in horror.

"Fucking Hell!"

"Oh I'm sorry are you not a brown meat kind of person?" he unhooked something from behind his back and rolled it along the line, "whoops!"

A disfigured bloodied head rolled to a stop outside Archer's cell.

"Camille?" Archer cried out, "No!"

He lunged at the bars in anger, screaming at the Leader.

"What have you done!?"

"Hey I've done nothing, you can thank the Professor and his sidekick for that one. I'm just passing the message,"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Wilks snarled.

"It's not my fault she turned Lambent before you could get to her. That's right, too late to save your women because you're trapped in a cell."

"All of them?" Miles asked quietly, eying up the stump outside the cell.

"The women we took were all infected, your little blonde whore was just collateral damage,"

"I refuse to believe it," Wilks defiantly stood his ground.

"It's true," the Leader chuckled to himself, "she was thrown in with the beasts and they ripped her apart. What wasn't bitten was burnt with Imulsion. They shot the women so not to incite the other Formers. My men are burning the bodies before the Imulsion travels."

"No..." Wilks stepped backwards slowly.

"That's what you can smell, the bodies burning, smells so good mind. Shame it's so inedible,"

"How do we know you aren't lying?"

"Well I can show you burning bodies if you want, but if you want proof, there's always this..." he threw in a blood splattered COG tag at Wilks' feet revealing the words 'Private Wilks. Aidan, E'

Wilks picked the tag up and ran his finger over the engraving, rubbing the blood away. There was a sickness in the pit of his stomach.

"Cute, by the way," the Leader commented, "giving her your name. Were you just filling in the blanks? You could have just used her adopted name, no need to be so desperate to feel needed."

"It's legal, there was no need to use the name that signified the season she was taken into the Compound," Wilks mumbled staring down at her tags. Something clicked suddenly in his head making him realise that the Leader knew a surprising amount about Aidie's past, he looked up at him with so much defiance that the Leader felt unnerved.

The Leader stood his ground trying not to be drawn into Wilks, "There was nothing wrong with the name they gave her."

"She took another, a name she was allowed to choose," He angrily pushed back.

He laughed at the Gear, "so she chose yours, how unimaginative. What did you do, pay her?"

"No," Wilks responded simply, revealing a ring looped onto her tags, "I married her."


	12. Chapter 12 - Freedom

**Author's Note -** So I've been doing Former research, a lot of it. Which mostly means watching and playing the Brothers to the End chapter in Gears 3, meaning I simultaneously freak myself out and break my heart. Nothing scarier than the reveal of those Formers, seeing those buildings all marked off with red crosses, and watching the way they charge at you from the darkness. We're talking exploding zombies now guys. Lambency is a scary when it jumps to humans.

At the same time you can't experience Formers for the first time without watching Dom making his sacrifice for his brother (spoilers for anyone who has never even played the franchise, but then if that's the case, why are you even here?). My heart, I still can't get over losing Dom. Poor Dom.

Anyway back to Wilks and his unfortunate squad...

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve - Freedom**

* * *

Angelo had taken to staring at the Formers in their cages, he watched as they flinched away from the Professor when he went to take another one for his experiments. He saw them weep to themselves in their own horrific kind of way when the darkness fell over them. Angelo had grown to feel sorry for them, it wasn't their fault that they had become monsters.

He couldn't help noticing that the closer the Professor and Lem got to their coveted cure the more the pair were starting to resemble monsters themselves. They were closed out to everything else around them. Cutting up humans whilst they screamed for mercy and they didn't even flinch.

Which made it so easy for Angelo to do what he did.

He slunk passed Luicie one evening as she lay panting in thirst, he stopped and scratched at her cage to gain her attention. She gazed blankly back at him as she watched him in silence. He pulled himself to a stand and slipped the ring of keys from their hook on the wall, dropping back on all fours and scurrying over to her cage. He sat for a while fiddling with the keys, trying to work out what each one did. He stopped at a key with a skull over the top and shakily slipped it into the lock on Luicie's cage. He turned the key until he heard a click in the lock and the door swung open. Luicie's eyes widened in curiosity, pushing the cage open with one hand and watching as freedom became available to her. She crawled uneasily over to him and rubbed affectionately against him as a thank you. Luicie used her claws and razored teeth to detach Angelo's muzzle, letting it drop to the floor and freeing him from his own prison. He looked back at her realising how similar they were and knew then where his priorities now lay.

He turned and scampered away with the key, Luicie now following closely behind. He headed towards the cells that held the Formers. Using all the energy inside him he pulled himself to his feet and limped unsteadily to each cell where he used the skull key to free each prisoner.

At first the Formers huddled in the corner, for fear that the Professor had returned for them, but eventually they took in Angelo's disfigured outline and they cautiously made their way towards him. Luicie stood behind him, watching loyally as he stepped back to give them their freedom. The Formers seemed uncertain, following him closely as he went about freeing each subject.

As they all assembled in the tunnels they realised how many of them they numbered, hundreds of creatures created to satisfy mankind's whims. Each one of them horrifically disfigured from the Lambency flowing freely through their veins, all of them glowing like the Imulsion that had mutated them.

The scent of human nearby filled their senses. They hissed at each other in a sudden sense of excitement, rippling through them like wave of hunger. They checked with their new leader whether it was okay to go hunting. He yipped and nipped at them in encouragement, thinking of the pain that had been inflicted to him at the hands of the humans around them. These were his family now.

A few Formers had started scratching at the bars of a cell where some of their dead lay slumped in a heap, they had picked up the smell of human. Angelo snapped at them to keep them back as he unlocked the cell to investigate for himself. Five dead partially mutated females had been stabbed to death, in the corner two humans huddled together, one cradled a tiny baby the other shook nervously in fear. By the time the Formers had started screeching in warning, Angelo was in the middle of the cell and the door slammed shut behind him. He whirled round to catch sight of Aidie who had been hiding under one of the bodies. The hair that had previously brought back distant memories was now dirty and bloodied hung in straggled rats tails, her clothes had been ripped over one side. It was clear that she was injured, blood dribbled down her arm which she held close to her chest in protection. In her other hand she held a blade out to threaten him.

"Angelo," she breathed nervously, then glanced around at the Formers outside the cell, "keep away from us Angelo and let us walk out of here. I don't want to use this on you."

"Free," he mumbled, shifting to one side to allow her access to Sofie, Emma and the baby.

She helped them to their feet and guided them carefully to the door, backing them out as Angelo followed behind. She bashed on the bars that housed Freja, urging him to unlock the cage to free her. The Formers starting pushing forward hungrily until he stopped them. Gazing back at Aidie sadly he pointed towards the tunnel that twisted into the darkness.

"Free," he asserted loudly to them, "Run."

She gave him a lingering look as she protectively took the women by the arm and led them down the tunnel into the darkness.

Angelo turned to Luicie and yipped at her, scampering down the tunnels in the hunt for his next quarry.

* * *

The Leader let out a howl of frustrated anger as he thrust his blade across the room, letting it clang as it hit the floor loudly.

"He fucking married her Thaw!" He raged as his second in command watched him in confused silence.

"I don't understand what's going on,"

"I had 'em, the lot of them were stunned. Starting with the Locust corpse, then bam rolling head so they all could see. She was bloody related to the guy on the end which made it perfect. They were starting to fall apart, I could see the cracks forming. I threw in her COG tags and I could visibly see that bastard's heart split apart. My mistake was taunting him about the name because he casually drops in that bombshell. Who the hell marries these days, it's a dead institution!"

"I'm assuming you're talking about the girl," Thaw tried his best to follow his Leader's train of thoughts, "she's dead now so surely it doesn't matter what happened between her and their Sergeant."

"It mattered to me," the Leader threw a fist at the wall, withdrawing his hand to stare back at the blood oozing from the cuts on his knuckles.

"I don't get you, you spent ages telling us that our pasts are our pasts and no longer part of who we are now. And yet here you are whinging about two people from your past, who, at your own orders, should have been assassinated the moment we captured them. Freja would have sorted this stupidity from you."

"My mistake was not killing them both on site,"

"Well you know what you have to do then," Thaw glanced upwards at the cells overlooking their hall.

The Leader nodded in agreement, staring up at the cells in the darkness on the balcony above them. As he lowered himself to a chair opposite Thaw they were both alerted to a screeching sound from the tunnels. They glanced at each other in confusion, both on their feet in minutes as two of their men came running towards them, alerting the slumbering Nightmares from their beds.

"The Formers are lose! Someone let them out!" one yelled.

"What?!" The Leader bellowed, reaching for his knife in readiness.

"They've swarmed the courtyard, we're trapped!"

A sound of hissing echoed through the corridors as the Leader approached to assess the situation. He silently signalled for the Nightmares to ready themselves and waved for Thaw to assess their exit strategy.

One Nightmare let out a surprised cry just as a group of Formers approached from a side entrance. They let out a screech of pleasure as they caught sight of him and charged quickly. They moved awkwardly and floppily but they were quick and massed rapidly. One grabbed his arm whilst another lunged at his other one, they kept pulling and pulling until both arms made a popping sound and ripped out of his sockets. The Nightmare screamed just as another Former descended upon his throat.

In that moment of massed madness, where the Formers surged, clawing and snapping to get at the fresh blood of their first kill. The Nightmares charged forwards to utilise on their deterred attention. As they threw the first blow more Formers approached from behind, taking them down before they even realised they never had a chance.

The Leader watched in horror as he tried to pull one Nightmare back, retrieving only an arm stump. He fell backwards in shock, shuffling away from the chaos with no answer to the creatures. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find one of his own men helping him to his feet. He indicated in the direction of Thaw who stood beside a curtain leading to the hidden exit behind the staircase, waving his arms frantically to anyone who could see him.

"Fall back!" The Leader hollered as he sprinted towards Thaw and their only chance of escape.

* * *

The majority of Wilks' fight had drained from him after the Leader's revelation of Aidie's death, a part of him didn't want to believe him but another part knew the entire escapade had been futile from the start. He had been foolish to bring her knowing how badly Tate had been injured. There was no amount of training he could have given her that would have prepared her for the monsters that lurked in the building they were being held.

His squad seemed at a loss as what to do now that Wilks had retreated inside himself. Slumped in the corner of the cell head buried in his knees. Completely silent.

"C'mon kid," Cam spoke carefully to him, "you gotta snap outta it."

Miles faced a similar situation with Archer, except the Stranded refused to grieve in silence.

"This isn't right," Archer muttered hammering his hands against the bars of the cell as he stared back at the lifeless eyes of his Niece's dismembered head, "she was only a kid."

"Archer, mate, we're gonna get out of here so you can kill the bastards that did that to her," Miles tried to console him from the neighbouring cell.

"What's the point they'll all still be dead? Me killing them will never bring them back. I still have to return to our village to face Burn and tell him his wife and daughter are dead, to achieve what? So some mad scientist could run tests on Lambent humans. It sure makes me feel so much better that their deaths helped him achieve his goals,"

Miles leant against the bars to catch a glance at Cam who knelt down quietly talking to Wilks.

"C'mon kid," he soothed, "yer stronger than this. Yer can grieve for her later but we need yer right now. We need yer to get us outta here."

Wilks let out a heavy sigh, deliberating his duties over the pain of his emotions. Reminding himself of the times his father used to berate him for showing any emotion on duty. He was a Wilks, he was better than that. He sat up and stared silently into space, refusing to meet Cam's expression.

A disturbing sound came from the hall below, a hissing shriek followed by the frantic screams of the Nightmares. Gunfire rattled erratically before ceasing with a curdled screech. The prisoners took to their feet in alarm. Wilks took hesitant steps towards the front of his cage just as Angelo bounded victoriously up the stairs. He held out the keys for their cells, swinging it around his bony finger. He beamed from ear to ear and was glowing a fierce Imulsion colour.

He turned the key in the first lock to free Wilks and followed suit with the others, stepping back to watch them taste their freedom. Wondering whether the situation would be similar to that of his fellow Formers.

Wilks was the first to emerge, fists clenched, his breathing rapid with anger as he approached Angelo.

"You should have told me she was dead," he seethed as he stood face to face with the creature that had released them.

Angelo was unsure as to what was going on, he had been expecting relief and joy. Not anger. These humans definitely did not view him as their own.

He bore his increasingly pointed teeth in defence and hissed at Wilks to keep him back.

"No!" he hissed back sizing himself up to Wilks' height, "baby."

"You make no fucking sense Angelo!" Wilks snapped back at him, grabbing him to shake him. His grip was so tight Angelo thought his arms were going to snap in half.

Cam and Miles ran forward to grab their Sergeant and pull him back. Angelo was screeching at him now, eyes filled with terror. He had never expected such aggression from the man who had once pledged 'friend' to him.

"Woah woah woah!" Cam stepped between them as Wilks stepped back away from him, "C'mon kid. Let's remember who has the power here."

"I don't fucking care anymore," Wilks spat.

Angelo panted, standing wide legged and awkward, the whites of his eyes flashed fear and yet something triggered inside him. An anger and aggression that he felt obliged to feel as well, he wanted to rip as many humans apart as he could just like his new brothers and sisters were doing downstairs. And yet as he stood in front of the group of unarmed humans, he could only see their pain and despair.

He limped past Cam towards Wilks and took his hand, the Gear frowned in confusion as he drew his fingers so they were palm to palm. He tilted his head to stare him back in the eyes. Despite everything that was happening to him there was some part of him that remained human and he clung to that feeling for these men.

"Free," he told him firmly, fighting the part of his brain that wanted to lash out.

Wilks' eyes widened in recognition and nodded slowly, a errant tear escaped from his eye and slipped down his cheek. It made Angelo frown and reach out to wipe it from the Gear's cheek, he gazed at it on his finger before licking the saltiness in curiosity. After a thoughtful moment he opened his mouth and spoke again.

"Guns,"

* * *

Daylight streamed into the tunnel as Sofie pushed open the door to their escape releasing them into the Seran wilderness. Emma and Freja stumbled closely behind her as Aidie pushed the door closed after them. They turned to take in the wasteland around them trying to gather their bearings and let out a gasp. In the time they had been in captivity the ground had been ripped apart by towering Lambent Stalks, pools of Imulsion seeped through the ground letting out the deadly fumes into the air.

"Oh God!" Aidie gasped.

"Shit!" Freja cursed.

"What happened?" Emma asked.

The baby started screaming forcing Sofie to find somewhere to sit where she could feed her. She nestled herself down on a rock and turned her back to the Stalks, closing her eyes to force herself from going over the edge.

Emma kept close by to her Grandchild, watching as the baby fed eagerly, oblivious to her absent mother.

"How's she doing?" she asked cautiously.

"She's surviving, considering," Sofie chose her words carefully.

"Thank you for looking after her,"

Sofie glanced down at the child and felt a pang in her heart realising she should be nursing her own son not some dead woman's daughter.

Aidie cautiously approached the stalks, assessing for any movement as she prodded at it with her boot. She looked it up and down before taking in the vast decay around it. The stalk was dead, but the many others that had sprouted around it certainly weren't. She continued to walk through the newly sprouted forest of twisted stalks, the sound of the vines cracking as they swaying signified that they were far from safe.

"How far do you think these things have grown?" she asked, half to herself but aware that Freja was also taking in the monstrosities with the same feeling of dread.

"I wouldn't even know, but they weren't here before,"

"We need to get back to the Village," Aidie suddenly came to the conclusion.

"No look at you, you're in no fit condition to be travelling," Emma interjected.

"I'm fine," she pulled at the ripped shoulder of her vest and shook her head, "it's superficial injuries, nothing I can't bandage up."

Aidie dug through one of the pouches on her hip and retrieved a roll of bandage, pinning one end down with her arm as she wrapped it around the bleeding wound until she had fully dressed it.

"Freja you are free to do whatever you want, or you can join us. Our home is in danger and we need to get back immediately,"

Freja nodded, "of course I'll come with you."

"The baby needs feeding Aidie, we're going to have to wait a while," Sofie snapped slightly, facing the wall.

"Okay, but I'm gonna need you ladies to do what I tell you to do," Aidie knotted the straps of her vest together, wincing as she did so. She hooked her armour back in place and tightened the connections on her shoulder. She adjusted her knife, now slotted between her belt and the waistband of her jeans. She felt naked without a gun to protect them.

"So what _is_ our plan then?" Sofie twisted in her seat to fix Aidie with a glare.

"I'm gonna have to get a weapon somewhere, a knife is great close quarters but I don't want to get anywhere near to these Lambent creatures,"

"The Allfathers Church has a small collection of weapons if we could get that far undetected," Emma suggested.

"No way, I'm not going back to that place again," Sofie swore, "not where my poor babies lie rotting."

"I did bury them Sofie, I even put their names on each of their graves to mark them out," Aidie offered, although she doubted Sofie would appreciate anything she said to her.

Sofie sent her a look, her brows furrowed, eyes darkened in hate. She had never liked the young COG wannabe from the moment she turned up alongside Wilks, the kid had no clue about the pain she was going through. She opened her mouth to respond just as she caught sight of Emma who had been carefully watching her own grandchild carefully held in this stranger's arms. Emma, who had also lost her daughter. Realising that her feud with Aidie had to be put on hold for the sake of their survival, she swallowed back the bile in her throat.

"Thank you," she finally answered, "I know Tate would have appreciated it."

"Okay, I don't think the Church was that far from here, but we're going to have to keep a low profile if we see anything. Do you ladies think you're ready for this?"

Sofie gave her a sly smile in response, "Oh my dear, you forget I was a Stranded a lot longer than you've been a Gear, surviving is my strongest attribute."

* * *

The Gears followed closely behind Angelo as he led them down into the Grand Hall, revealing the bloodied remains of the unfortunate humans that had been caught by the Former advances. Luckily for them the creatures had retreated back to the darkness, whilst they awaited the return of their new leader. Few surviving Nightmares remained in the building, most had escaped so they could regroup and decide on their next course of action. It gave Angelo a perfect opportunity to lead the humans safely through the hall to a small side room where the seized weapons had been stored.

The Gears dug through the piles of weapons in search of their own guns whilst Angelo sat outside the room keeping an eye out for anyone who approached.

"And I thought my weaponry room was big," Archer marvelled at the shelves of ammunition and pocketed a few extra rounds for his pistols, "goes to show what is still out there to be scavenged."

Cam assisted Miles with his Scorcher as his broken arm prevented him from handling it with both hands. He strapped it to his back and picked out a lighter weapon for him to handle single handed.

Miles pulled a face, "oh Cam c'mon, I hate Snubs, surely there's a weapon better suited to me amongst this crap."

Cam gave him a sceptical look, "Not unless yer know how to handle a Lancer with one hand."

Wilks' Lancer, identified with his own personal graffiti along the sides, was pretty easy to find and he looped it to the webbing attached to his spinal armour plates. He hesitated when he caught sight of Aidie's Longshot, slightly tattered and bent in certain places from her lack of attention to gun maintenance. But it was hers all the same and he felt duty bound to bring it home in her honour. He picked it up and hooked it between his Lancer and Gnasher. His shoulder slings were made to only carry two larger weapons but Wilks was determined to bring it back. He also opted to holster her stolen Semi Automatic Gorgon with the words 'Belongs to Wilks' scratched onto the side. He had missed his weapon at times, but it had been worth it knowing that she had made good use of them. He stuffed his hip pouch with extra rounds of ammunition for all weapons and turned to take in the rest of his squad.

"Are we ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Cam responded holstering his prized Pistols and adding a Sawn off Shotgun to his collection.

"Let's get outta here Wilks," Miles confirmed, "I'm ready to go home."

"I don't think I'll ever be ready to face Burn and the rest of those families," Archer said sadly.

Wilks pulled out his Gnasher and stocked the chamber with bullets, "Which is why we're gonna kill every last fucker in this building,"


	13. Chapter 13 - Revenge

**Author's Note -** So here we are ploughing ahead with the next chapter. My hassled Proof reader had a reading purge over the last weekend so I have plenty of chapters to keep you going between now and the Gears 4 release. Anyone else as excited as I am?

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen - Revenge**

* * *

The Leader supported another one of his men, who had escaped the carnage from the mansion, to the camp he and Thaw had set up. Few of the Nightmares that had managed to make it out alive were now being patched up by Thaw. The Leader sat the injured mercenary beside the fire and offered him a drink.

Thaw finished bandaging the head of one of the men as the Leader approached him to watch his work.

"Those Formers are going to rip that place apart," he muttered thoughtfully.

"If they haven't already," Thaw commented as he pinned the bandage in place, "we were getting too complacent anyway."

"It would be useful having something that destructive at our hands,"

"If it was ever possible to control those monsters I'm sure the Professor would have found a way,"

"Yeah but he was only ever interested in curing Lambency, not controlling,"

Chrysto, who had been listening nearby, spoke up, "You know they were following that thing that followed Lem around."

"Angelo?" the Leader turned, interested in this new revelation.

"Yeah, they looked to him every time he was around,"

"Hmm," he thoughtfully walked through his surviving men, working out their injuries and their remaining capabilities, "Thaw. You up for getting back in there?"

"Why?" Thaw frowned.

"I'm going to see if Freja is still there, hunt around and hope she's escaped. Plus if we're going to harness those Formers for our purposes we need something that can control them, Angelo is the key. I'm gonna go back in there and hunt out Angelo. He knew me once, which I'm hoping will help me lure him out to us. Once we have him in under our control, we can use him to force the Formers to obey us,"

"You really think that's going to work?" Thaw couldn't help giving him a look of bemusement.

"We can at least try," one thing he liked about Thaw was that he was always honest about whether his plans were likely to succeed. Thaw was never scared to speak out against him if he thought a plan was doomed to fail, "all we need is to drive them at that Stranded village. Surely we could herd them. Once we get them there instinct should take over and they'd wipe that place out in minutes. Unarmed Stranded would be easy pickings and we can walk in and take over the place after we finish the Formers off and claim it as our own."

"The theory is sound, but it's the Formers I'm worried about, what if they stop obeying Angelo?"

"They're Imulsion born right, surely they are Imulsion motivated. We've all been mutated by it somehow, if we show them our own mutilations they may start to see our side,"

Thaw rubbed a subconscious hand over the back of his head, his beanie hat covered his hair and with it his own disfiguring wounds. He knew all Nightmares had their own unique form of defect but he wondered whether monsters such as the Formers would understand that they were effectively the same, humanity aside.

"It might be best for a small group to go in with you, to limit any further potential losses."

"Agreed. Anyone willing to come with me, otherwise I will be going in there alone,"

His men stared back at him uncertain which decision was the right one. He could see the fear in their faces, he knew they would have followed him anywhere but their most recent encounter may have been a step too far for them.

He prepared himself to go alone, pulling down his mask to psyche himself up, when Thaw's familiar hand placed on his shoulder.

"We're in this together,"

* * *

Angelo started to drop back as the squad of Gears made their way through the building. Wilks took point as he scanned the corridors for any sign of life, there was a determined look of aggression on his face which was made Angelo grow wary. The Gears followed their way into the darkness, the Imulsion lamp light flickering and dancing as they jogged past. Wilks drew to a sudden halt as the tunnels widened into a huge darkened cavern filled with cells similar to the ones they had been trapped. He silently held his hand up pointing for Cam and Miles to spread out along the walls, he indicated for Archer to follow him. As he took a step forward a shadowy outline started charging towards him, arms flailing out for him.

His instincts clicked in before he even allowed himself to see the creature charging towards him, lifting his Gnasher up he fired two rounds. It burst into a charred dust as Imulsion particles filled the air.

"What the hell was that?!" Archer exclaimed loudly, causing Wilks to glance round at him to silence him. Archer gave him a look in response, "uhh bang, bang?"

To their left three more creatures sprinted towards them, but neither saw until they were picked up by the indicator lights on Wilks' armour. He whirled round quickly and blasted them, catching two with his Gnasher, the other swung out and caught hold of Archer. He struggled against it until he was able to unsheathe his own Boltok and fire point blank at it.

In the resulting silence Wilks calculated out their next movements. He could hear Cam and Miles to their right every so often firing their weapons, despite being at a disadvantage with Miles' broken arm. He indicated for Archer to take cover as he retreated momentarily back up the stairs to grab hold of a lamp. He returned to the cavern and strode midway into the room and smashed the lamp onto the floor. The Imulsion inside ignited lighting up a circular target for the creatures to aim as Wilks targeted in the centre.

"C'mon then," he growled readying his Gnasher, "why don't you show me what you can actually do."

From the darkness the shuffling came, followed by a low moaning, then the Formers charged frantically at him. The insatiable need to quench their hunger driving them to the extremes. The light meant that the Gears could fully see the horrific disfigurement twisting the creatures rapidly closing down on Wilks.

He stood unflinchingly still as he waited till they were almost on top of him then let himself loose. He twisted left and blasted the first wave, ducking down to avoid a swipe from the mass to his right and firing upwards into their twisted clawing faces. Ash filled the air as the vanquished Formers crumbled into the ether. He dropped to one knee to reload his Gnasher, relying on his squad covering his back as he left himself exposed.

"You're crazy," Archer exclaimed as he stepped forward, double wielding his Pistols.

Cam took to Wilks' side with his Sawn-off Shotgun, pushing the Formers back as a swarm were hit by his blast. Miles' Snub wasn't as powerful in comparison, but it was effective enough against them. Wilks read his men quickly understanding their need to reload and took to his feet to draw their attackers away them.

"The Scorcher!" Miles shouted out to him, "they're Lambent remember, they'll light up just like the Polyps."

"Archer, help Miles with his Scorcher, take 'em down," Wilks ordered as he drew out his Lancer and revved the chainsaw lunging out at the next attacking horde, slicing through their torsos.

He leapt backwards to watch as they wobbled slightly and unsteadily on their feet but still made their way to him. He ground his teeth as he charged back at them, jamming the chainsaw hard into their burning bodies till he could finally see them drop. They pushed against him, the swarm becoming heavier around him as he started to struggle, their weight forcing him to the ground. Their gnashing and swiping getting dangerously close, one clamped it's teeth around his wrist and started chomping down on his forearm armour. Wilks let out a cry as it pressed heavily against his wrist straps, feeling the pressure on his arm. He tried to flick his arm away to shift it's hold but it only seemed to tighten itself around him, lips shifting around his arm as it's jaw unhinged for a better hold. He winced at the sudden pain as its teeth started to break the skin. He exhaled through his clenched teeth as he struggled to pull his Lancer up with his free hand. Flicking the switch on the chainsaw he rammed it into the face of the Former, pulling his arm free as the creature screamed at the blade slicing through the Imulsion filled brain.

He felt a hand grab him from behind and heave him backwards from the foray. Adrenalin surged through him as he twisted, ready to turn his weapon on his next attacker, revealing Cam stepping protectively over him with his Sawn-off. He took down the attacking Formers easily, blasting groups of them apart before they were aware of the range of his weapon.

"Gerrup!" Cam barked as Archer surged towards them with a Scorcher, setting the next few alight. He offered a hand to help him to his feet, quickly glancing down at his Sergeant's bleeding arm in scrutiny, "can yer use it?"

"Of course I can," Wilks responded dryly, glancing quickly around them in case any more attacked, "have we got them all?"

"They started dropping back once the Scorcher came out," Miles answered, regrouping with them.

Cam pulled out a roll of bandage from his pouch and took hold of Wilks' arm, Wilks struggled against him momentarily until Cam fixed him with a stern stare. He unstrapped Wilks' wrist straps to examine the full extent of his injuries, twisting his wrist around and testing the movement in his hand. Wilks grumbled as he watched him inspect it.

"Yer okay?" there was a concern in Cam's voice that he only ever kept for Wilks, forcing him to slightly alter his own behaviour to respond.

"Yeah," he sighed, "thought it was the Wretch all over again."

"Me too kid," Cam wrapped a bandage over the slight injury as a precaution.

"I'll be going down fighting next time mind,"

"I'd rather there wasn't a next time,"

Wilks frowned slightly as he took in Cam, he kept forgetting the effect his actions had on the people who loved him. He may not have had much to live for anymore, but maybe his family had him.

"Anyone seen Angelo?" he asked, looking around them.

"He fled the moment you started playing 'Splat a Former' with his buddies," Miles told him as he assisted in adjusting the Scorcher for Archer.

"Didn't have much choice when the Formers charged right at us,"

"So our plans are? Aside of course blasting any Formers apart."

"I think we need to find this Professor, see what he's doing exactly and if we can put a stop to it. Not totally enjoying being around someone who creates Formers as a hobby,"

Once Archer had finished refuelling the Scorcher he had started searching through the cells for signs of his people. Stepping over the crevices and cracks around him ignoring the Imulsion fumes as he continued his hunt. Eventually he entered one and let out a sigh.

"I've found them," he called back to the Gears, "the women, I've found them."

Cam and Miles approached quickly, a need to affirm their fears forcing them forward, whilst Wilks hesitated behind them. There were blood splatters across the ground mixed with Imulsion. Wilks stood outside the cell watching as his men examined the bodies.

"This ain't right," Cam announced eventually, "These women are all infected yes, but they've been stabbed not shot."

"So what are you saying?" Wilks asked, slowly approaching.

"That our mercenary friend has not been completely honest with us,"

"Cam, friend is not a term I would ever use to describe that bastard,"

"Aidie isn't here Ol," Miles confirmed as he shifted the last body to one side, "Neither is Sofie."

"My sister isn't either," Archer added, "this is good right?"

"It means nothing. We all saw your niece's head, all it means is that they've either burnt or severed them for show. He had Aidie's COG tags, she would never willingly give them up. Look at them, they're all horrifically infected, there's no way anyone could have survived that unarmed."

"Keep yer head together kid," Cam warned, already seeing how the change in Wilks' disposition affected the others, "We're gonna find that Professor and we're gonna blast a few holes in his chest. But we need answers first."

The tunnels split in two directions one into the darkness the other one twisted through cracks churning out thick Imulsion fumes. The squad separated into two, Archer and Miles ventured into the darkness whilst Cam and Wilks pushed through the fumes. As they trekked further they stopped to take out their respirators from their pouches as the breathable air had become stifling. Cam and Wilks never usually paired up, but Cam had seen in a shift in Wilks' behaviour which had started to concern him the more he witnessed it. The last thing he wanted was a reckless Wilks with no one to control him.

They chainsawed through a padlock leading them upwards into a vast laboratory where two men had their backs to them busy working with chemicals. The severed body of a young woman draped over the centre table between them and the Gears. Wilks leant against the wall as he pocketed his respirator, clearing his throat at the same time. Lem and the Professor whirled round in sudden shock.

"Where the hell did you come from?" the Professor demanded angrily.

"Oh we were just taking a tour through your dungeons of horror," Wilks casually lifted his Lancer up and revved the chainsaw as if to reflect how their journey had resulted, "also not too sure whether you're aware of this but someone let your toys out to play with 'em."

"What?!" the Professor stormed forwards and for the first time noticed the door to Luicie's cage wide open. Lem followed close by, slowly realising the culprit behind the actions.

"Angelo," he sighed, unable to understand why he would betray him in such a way.

"Where is she?" the Professor shouted rushing towards Wilks, "where's my daughter?"

Cam stopped him midway with a pistol pressed against his chest.

"Well if she's anything like those delightful Formers that came to pay us a visit, I would assume she's nothing but dust," Wilks made his way to the Professor, "but then I'm also assuming a few of them escaped with your buddy Angelo."

"Did he free you too?" Lem asked assessing the two Gears carefully.

Wilks gave him a look that confirmed his suspicions.

"He must have my Luicie, we need to get them back," the Professor pleaded, concern now crossing his face.

"They've gone, along with the Formers,"

"We need them back,"

"I don't think you're in a position to argue here," Wilks stepped in front of the scientist, blocking his route into the dungeons.

"Look you don't understand," he tried to explain, rushing back to the set of chemicals on the bench at the back of the room, "I have a cure. I can cure them. I just need to treat them before the Lambency reaches their brains. The longer they are away from us the quicker they turn into one of them, we were the only thing tethering them to their human minds."

"You're kidding me right?" Wilks asked approaching the mixture of chemicals the Professor was playing with, "You can actually cure what's happening?"

"Only on humans with their minds still intact, once the Lambency reaches their brain and memory centre we can't go back."

"So what does the cure do?"

"Hopefully it eradicates the Lambent parasite from their system, they'll still look and behave the same way but there will be no risk of it developing further,"

"What do you mean hopefully?" Wilks frowned.

"We haven't really tested it extensively, we tried the cure on our most recent subject and she actually started improving," he indicted to the body sliced apart on the table between them.

"Must have made such an improvement you had no other choice but to chop her in half,"

"Well how else are we to see how the cure works on the Lambent?" he asked, honestly defending his own actions to them.

Wilks glanced across at Lem, "What the hell are you doing with this man?"

"I do what I do for Angelo," Lem defiantly met his gaze, he totally believed in the man who saw nothing wrong with slicing a human in half for science.

"We need Luicie and Angelo back," the Professor added, allowing the Gear to advance closer to their work, "now we know the cure works."

"Please help us," Lem pleaded, causing Wilks to turn to the young lad.

As Wilks' attention was momentarily diverted the Professor picked a vial up from the bench. He clicked it into a syringe and jabbed the needle into the Gear's neck, depressing the plunger to inject a fluid into him. Wilks' lashed out, thrusting the Professor across the floor.

"What the fuck!" he bellowed, heaving the needle out of his neck, "what the hell did you just..."

A searing pain suddenly surged through him, dropping him to the floor in agony. He clutched his fists around his head as he felt an aggressive entity burst into his system. Letting out a cry as his body started to convulse in response. Cam surged forward in concern, grabbing hold of Lem and heaving him along.

"Ollyvar!" he called out, rushing to be at his side.

Wilks held a hand out to stop him approaching further as he unfurled himself to bend over and vomit. Eventually he unsteadily set his gaze at the Professor. He staggered over to him grabbing him by the throat, needing to use both arms and put his whole weight into heaving him against the wall.

" _What_ did you just inject me with?" he spat to one side to dispel the taste of bile from his throat.

"The Lambent parasite," the Professor choked back, refusing to struggle.

"You _infected_ me?" he roared angrily, "You fucked up bastard!"

"How else are we going to get you to help us," Lem responded quietly hung from the scruff of his jumper as Cam angrily clung to him.

"You were in on it?!" Wilks dropped the Professor to the floor, a look of defeated betrayal overcame him.

"Look we just need to find the Serum before the Lambency starts affecting your brain. Your link to Aidan will keep you grounded enough to slow the process, like it's done with Angelo and Luicie. It'll be safe, we'll find Aidan and keep her close to slow the transformation."

"So you'd turn me Lambent just to incentivize me!"

"Can't yer just inject him with the cure now?" Cam asked, the wrath in his voice was making his accent more prominent than usual.

"It's not as simple as that," Lem responded

"The Imulsion has to be in his system deep enough to want to control the individual before the cure could even work," the Professor answered as he propped himself up against the steps.

"So what, he's gonna turn into one of those Formers if we don't treat him with the cure in time," Cam looked worriedly across at Wilks who was leaning against the wall heaving in a breath.

"Look it'll be fine," Lem stuttered an excuse, "we'll find Aidan and that'll help slow the process significantly."

"Well that's not going to work Lem," Wilks grumbled sadly, "she's dead."

"What?"

"You heard me," he stalked towards the severed body on the table and stared at it broodingly.

"I didn't realise..." A lot of Lem's brain had turned off to the possibility that he had put Aidan in physical danger the moment he had locked her in with the infected humans. But he refused to accept the guilt just yet.

"If there is no other way to keep him rooted to who he is, how long does he have until it takes him completely?" Cam asked.

"Days, maybe less depending on the individual,"

"Can't we just administer the cure as soon as he starts showing symptoms,"

"Well that's another problem," the Professor added from his step, "we don't have the cure on us."

"What?" Cam had finally lost his patience with the pair, "Where the hell is it?!"

"Angelo has it," Lem announced, "it's in a vial attached to his collar."

"You sick bastards," Wilks seethed approaching Lem angrily, "are you telling me that kid has been wearing the cure around his neck all along! You could have fucking saved him!"

"We needed to make sure the cure worked first!" Lem shrank back, he had no intention of being a victim to Wilks' rages.

"Why the hell didn't you use it on him then before you even fucking sliced that girl apart,"

Lem could see the anger and confusion in Wilks' eyes, the guy wanted to protect all of Sera if he had the chance. For years he had been united in Frost's wrath at Aidan wanting to choose Wilks, but now he was starting to see the uniqueness she had been drawn to.

He felt an involuntary tear streak down his cheek.

"I... I don't know, I guess we wanted to make sure it actually worked,"

Wilks prodded him hard in the shoulder, " _You_ don't get to make those choices, you don't get to play with other people's lives without their consent."

"We've gotta find him then," Cam announced beside Wilks, drawing him out of his rage. He nodded thoughtfully, glancing at his next in command to see him watching him carefully.

"I'm fine," he brushed off Cam's unspoken concern.

He strode over to the Professor and grabbed hold of him, dragging him towards Luicie's empty cage and stuffing him inside. He slid the bolt across and clicked the padlock closed. The Professor shook at the bars angrily.

"What are you doing?" he cried out in response, "You can't do this to me!"

"You're staying where I know you can't damage any more people," he whirled round and fixed on the teen now nervously eying up the two Gears, "Lem, you're coming with us."

"What?"

Wilks unhooked a pair of wrist chains from the wall, cuffing them over Lem's hands, "if you really are the reason Angelo is still hanging onto his humanity I'm going to need you more than him."

"What about you?" Cam asked him.

"We're going to find Angelo and just pray to those bloody Allfathers that I can hang on that long,"

"If we could get yer back to the Village, kid, we could sort the cure there,"

"And what if it doesn't work, Cam?" Wilks asked him, "I would never put them in jeopardy like I did Aidie. This has to happen away from them. Besides we have to consider the worst case scenario here. Cam, I'm gonna need you to do the hardest thing I've ever asked you to do. If this Lambency takes over me quickly I need you to pull the trigger for me. I need you to end it before I hurt anyone."

"I won't let yer go kid," Cam placed a fatherly hand on Wilks' arm, "I already watched yer pa die, I'm not going to let yer go too."

"On the bright side, at least you'll get your own squad then,"

They stared back at each other, the elder squeezed the arm of the son he never had whilst the younger closed his eyes trying to fight back the affection his second father gave him. As he looked back at him he could see tears building up in Cam's eyes.

"I'm not ready to give up on yer yet kid,"


	14. Chapter 14 - Infecting Minds

**Author's Note -** Well after royally stuffing Wilks up in the last chapter I figured I really couldn't leave you high and dry, especially as a lot of my brain will be going into the new Gears and developing a new tale which will follow along the Gears 4 storyline. Watch this space.

Anyway here's chapter fourteen, which really should be named Conversations Around Fires because that's pretty much all that happens here, not to underwhelm you for what you are about to read. After everything that's happened it usually good to slow it down a little and take stock of the events they have been through. Plus now that Wilks is headed down the one way line to Glowie Central we kind of need to address it with his squad. I simultaneously love and hate to torture my characters I'm afraid, it breaks my heart but that is the way the character wants to progress.

I've waffled enough. Please enjoy and apologies on any delay in the next chapter release.

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen - Infecting Minds**

* * *

Betrayal, anger, hatred.

He felt so foolish and lost. And yet he knew that the Gears had been out for blood the moment he had unlocked their cells. A naïve part of him had thought that even when his Formers had attacked they would have laid down their weapons and accepted them. How could he have been so misguided

He staggered backwards up the stairs fleeing from the sound of gunfire, even as it subsided into silence.

Humans would never understand.

"Angelo?" a voice in the darkness alerted him.

He whirled round in a panic baring his teeth and rising up to his feet in defence. A figure in the shadows stepped forward to reveal himself.

"Angelo it's me," He unhooked his mask to show his face to the lad he had once known so well.

Angelo stared back at him, recognising vague features from the man standing in front of him. Most significantly a memory of him firing a gun at a man to protect him. He remembered him shouting out to him to run when other men had wanted to kill him. He had protected him not too long ago and they had fled together. A part of him wanted to trust this man wholeheartedly, but another part remembered the distrust and hate shown the more he had descended to Lambency.

Behind the leader Thaw approached hesitantly, removing his beanie hat to reveal a gaping hole in his skull showing his fleshy brain inside.

"We're just like you Angelo," the Leader spoke softly, "affected by the same virus that has hurt and twisted you, given to us by the pathetic humans that roam Sera. We're one and the same."

Angelo frowned, drawing nearer to Thaw to examine the extent of his disfigurement, he placed his hands on his shoulder to leaver himself taller to take everything in. Thaw flinched slightly for fear of Angelo turning on him.

"They did this to me," he gruffly told him as Angelo stood to look at him, searching his face for similarities. He grabbed hold of his hand and placed his own against his palm to assess if there were any differences.

"We are disfigured creatures, shunned by humans, all of us," the Leader reaffirmed behind him, "even Lem treats you like an animal."

Angelo whirled round quickly at the name, "Lem?"

"I don't think he respects you, he's there torturing those poor Formers and making you watch. I would never dream of hurting our fellow beings," he placed a comforting hand on Angelo's shoulder, "I bet you let those Gears out because you thought they were different. You thought their leader would help and protect you all, not slaughter them. But he's like every single human on Sera, vermin that need to be exterminated. We can protect you, you know, we're all the same. We could find any survivors and take them away from this place. There's a fishing village not far from here, we could destroy it Gelo, take what we deserve from those who've done nothing but torture us. It could be our home."

A smile flashed momentarily over Angelo's face, "Home?"

"You, me, Thaw, that young woman behind you and all of our people,"

Angelo turned to see that Luicie had emerged from the darkness, watching the encounter closely and nervously. Behind her a few Formers had remained.

Thaw nervously pulled his beanie back on and the Leader placed a steadying hand on him in support.

"It's okay," he spoke to them, "We are like you. We want what is owed to us, we want a home where we will be accepted. Please come with us. We will protect you."

* * *

Wilks staggered to one side momentarily, leaning against the wall to support himself as a searing pain surged through his chest. He paused to steady himself, taking a few heavy breaths.

Cam stopped, placing a concerned hand on his back.

"Yer okay?"

Wilks nodded, "Just a few chest pains."

"That's how it starts," Lem commented quietly as Cam tugged him along by his cuffed hands. He planted himself momentarily to give the Gear a cursory once over, "It's the headaches you need to keep an eye on."

Wilks spat up a taste of bile as he glanced at Cam, a look of defiance on his face. Cam heaved Lem a little too roughly after him, causing him to trip over. As he assisted him back to his feet he stepped menacingly over him.

"I don't care if I have to drag yer tattered body across Sera, we're getting that serum for him. You withhold any information from us and yer'll be wishing we locked yer in that cell instead,"

Lem swallowed and nodded nervously, "yes sir."

* * *

The further they walked through the wilderness the more the Stalks had erupted, everywhere they looked dormant Lambent Stalks towered around them. It was starting to resemble an inescapable forest. A once recognisable landscape had now been skewered into a strange frightening land.

The women pushed forward, navigating via the gulley towering around them. Having to retrace their steps a few times and find an alternate route. They had been lucky so far and hadn't encountered any Locust or Lambent. But Aidie knew it wouldn't be too long before their luck would run out, so she kept pushing them forward. Much to Sofie's dismay, they refused to stop except when the baby needed feeding.

The ground rumbled under their feet and all four women stumbled backwards. Until recently they had always known their enemy emerged from below ground. But now, as another Lambent Stalk burst through the ground, they had no idea where to expect their next threat.

"Praise the Allfathers," Emma breathed, pointing to the a building in the distance, "the Church!"

The ground under them gave way, Sofie and Emma sprinted as fast as they could whilst Aidie slipped into the subsidence. She leapt to grab hold of the ledge and levered herself upwards as Freja took hold of her hand in assistance. A pain shot through her injured arm as she put a little too much of her weight on it. Cursing, she scrabbled over the ledge and heaved herself out of the expanding pit. She lay flat on her belly for a few minutes longer than she would have liked, feeling a wave of exhaustion ebb into her consciousness. She hated holes that appeared in the ground at the best of times, but now was not the best time when all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep. She let out a heavy breath and scrambled herself onto all fours and then onto her feet, giving Freja a nod of thanks. Looking around for the Church and way to at least breathe.

* * *

The sound of footsteps in the tunnels had caused Cam and Wilks to raise their weapons in readiness until a voice called out.

"If you bloody pepper me with holes you'll never hear the last of it," came the undeniable voice of Miles.

"We've found a way out," Archer called as they finally drew up to them, "the tunnel twists round to a doorway."

It was then that the pair caught sight of a handcuffed Lem being lugged along by Cam.

"What's _he_ doing here?"

"Atoning for his sins," Wilks responded as he stopped to take in the men of his squad, "gents we are tasked with finding Angelo for our new friend here."

"Why would we do that?" there was a sharpness in Archer's voice as he addressed Lem, " Not only did you infect my poor heavily pregnant niece but you also slaughtered her and her mother. There is nothing you could offer me that would make me want to help you."

"Lem here has access to the cure for the Formers, except... he foolishly attached it to Angelo's collar for... safe keeping," Wilks paused a few times to fight back the sickening pain lurching up inside him again.

"Ol? Are you okay?" Miles approached him until Wilks held a hand up to stop him so he could turn and vomit to one side. Miles looked shockingly back at Cam, "What's going on Cam?"

"We're looking for his buddy for another reason," Cam explained, "They infected Olly with the Lambent parasite."

"What?!" Miles and Archer bellowed in unison, their fury once again directed at Lem who tried to take a step backwards but found himself still tethered to Cam.

"Why would you do that?" Miles sounded more upset than angry, how could someone justify doing this, "we just lost Aidie, he's having a hard enough time without you doing this to him."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about Aidan and we needed someone to help us, we didn't know what else to do,"

"He would have helped you kid, he's that kind of person. He didn't need you to infect him,"

Lem felt tears prick his eyes, he had never really met Wilks' squad before and looking at the defensive protection they were showing he was starting to understand why Wilks had turned into the man he was. They truly loved the family that fought alongside them. No wonder Aidie had dropped everything for them.

"We can cure him though," he heard himself trying to defend his actions, "if we get to Angelo in time we can cure him before the Lambency gets to him. But you're going to need to keep him rooted to who he is if he's going to stand a chance of fighting it."

"Guys, I am still here," Wilks panted whilst bent over leaning his hands against his knees, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about me as if I was a slobbering wreck of a Former already."

This time Miles went straight up to his Sergeant helping him to a stand, protectively helping him along.

"C'mon on then Ol, let's go find this kid,"

* * *

As night drew in the Nightmares uneasily settled down in a camp with the Formers lurking in the darkness somewhere nearby. Angelo had needed to see the disfigurement of all of the mercenaries before he'd decided to join them and not unleash the Formers on them. Luicie had remained nearby as support and they sat beside the Leader watching the flames of the fire heating their limbs.

The Leader glanced at Thaw who was uncomfortable being so close to the creatures that could lash out at any moment without warning. He kept his weapon close at hand, but always lowered it whenever Angelo glanced his way.

When Angelo and Luicie took themselves to one side to curl up and sleep Thaw was finally able to speak freely.

"What are we doing?"

"We're getting what's owed to us," the Leader answered simply.

"Is this the answer? Lying to these creatures so we can get what we want,"

"They are a means to an end, once they have achieved our purpose we can put a bullet through their heads,"

"And what about the Formers, what's going to stop them from turning on us?"

"You think I'm that daft Thaw, we'll wait until we're at the village and let them loose, they'll be too busy doing what they do to notice that we've eliminated their precious leader,"

"And what if they floor the village and return to us to find we've slotted the only thing that can control them?"

The Leader was silent, mulling over the options in his head, his eyes flicked from side to side as he calculated the options. He then looked back at his next in line.

"If that is the case we'll destroy them before they have a chance to get back to us, lay traps to stop them getting out,"

Thaw chewed on his gums thoughtfully, glancing over at Angelo's sleeping form.

"Poor kid's never going to see it coming, he thinks he's found a purpose, an ally,"

"Us or them Thaw, that's the law of Sera,"

They stared at the fire in silence, Thaw let out a heavy sigh and pressed a hand lightly against the back of his head. He had hated what the scientists had done to him, messing around with his head when they had run out of options. Injecting him with Imulsion laden poisons until he was screaming. The last straw was the moment they had broken apart his skull to gain access to his brain to see the effect the Imulsion did to his synapses. He responded in the only way he knew how, to beat them bloodied and senseless then flee. The only man who had shown him kindness sat beside him now, he had taken him in and helped mould his warped mentality. He had never once doubted him because he trusted him completely. Until now.

* * *

Emma and Sofie had easily fallen asleep with the baby nestled carefully between them, accustomed to resting in the outside regardless of the threat around them. Aidie had never been as lucky. As a Gear she had taken it as her duty to protect the weaker individuals in her care. Thinking of all the things Wilks would have done if he was in her place. She remembered like it was yesterday, the sleepless nights he had endured to get her family safe to Jacinto before the COG had decided to sink it.

She kept searching the darkness in the hope that he was out there somewhere. So much of her had wanted to return to the mansion to find them, a part of her that relied on him to survive. But the side of her that reminded her that she was a Gear told her she was responsible for the civilians now, and they relied on her to get back home. So instead of fretting she scratched out marks in the dirt as they went so that if they chose to follow they would know where she was planning on taking the others.

Freja sat silently, her eyes nervously flicking across the dark horizon then back to her companion. She hadn't spoken much since she had been rescued from the cells but Aidie knew she was taking everything in. There was something about Freja that unsettled Aidie. Maybe it was because she had gotten used to Wilks' guarded nature over strangers, or maybe she just hadn't met enough people from the outside world. She seemed like a skilled scavenger, aware of her surroundings and capable with her hands, but there was something about her Aidie didn't overly trust.

The baby let out a pitiful yowl, startling Freja suddenly. Her eyes flicked to the child edging slightly away as Aidie cautiously plucked the infant from the two sleeping women and carried her back to the warmth of the gentle glowing embers of the fire. She dropped to her haunches, shuffling herself comfortable as she commenced rocking the child very gently until she settled back into a slumber.

"You seem good with children," Freja observed eventually, "do you have any yourself?"

"Me? No," Aidie quietly responded, "I'm just around them a lot. The village where we live, they have them in abundance. Plus a friend of mine just had a ..."

She drew to a halt as her eyes drifted to Sofie's sleeping form.

"They just lost their children. Those Nightmares that held you prisoner murdered them in front of him. Barely left him alive. I don't know how Sofie does it, how she could carry on after watching such an atrocity."

Freja let out a breath, "I'm sorry, how horrible."

She shook her head to shake the image of the poor children she had not long laid to rest, then turned to her new companion. A chance had opened for her to push for information and she needed to take it.

"What about you? Any family where you're from?" She asked curiously.

Freja gave her a slight smile then indicated to the child, "Once upon a time maybe I would have considered it. But Sera is a cruel and unforgiving planet when mankind is nearing extinction."

She unzipped her hooded sweater to reveal a garish jagged scar across her stomach, Aidie let out a gasp as she took in the damage in its entirety.

"What happened?"

She caressed a hand over her stomach a final time before zipping the sweater back up and letting out a sigh.

"Monsters come in many shapes and forms, not just the ones we have been taught to fear. Believe it or not I have experienced more cruelty at the hands of humans than I ever have from Locust. My parents sold me at the age of five to whatever beast would pay for me. As it turned out children are a hindrance come the end of the world it seems."

"You're talking to the person who was left at a COG run orphanage at birth before the Locust attacked. I know firsthand how little parents disregard their children,"

"You were one of the lucky ones then," Freja responded dryly, "my parents left me at the hands of the highest bidder. A man who took pleasure in my suffering. For most of my miserable life he beat and abused me. My breaking point was at the age of twelve, I didn't feel too well, sick all the time, very tender. For a while I attributed it to the beating I had received, but the sickness was all too regular. Turned out I was pregnant. So I ran, I ran to find someone who would tear the abomination from me and I never looked back."

"Bloody hell," Aidie blurted out a little louder than she needed as the baby squirmed in her hold, "I am so sorry."

"Don't be, escaping that bastard was the best thing that happened, it wasn't easy living wild. But I grew up to defend and protect myself. I didn't need anyone to survive."

At Aidie's astonished face Freja sent her a smile, "please don't fret. By the time I was competent and capable I found a tribe that helped assist my development. I've never forgotten that bastard mind you, he plagues my dreams. By the time I was strong enough to face him he had made a runner. I will find him again and when I do l won't stop until his village has burnt to the ground."

"Even innocent people who had no idea what he was?"

"That bastard will never hide from me," she stared intently at the baby in Aidie's arms, "he stole my future from me. After everything that happened, no matter how much I moved on. I could never bring myself to consider conceiving another child, regardless of how difficult my scars made it."

"I am so sorry Freja," Aidie responded honestly, aware of the struggle her original guardian had gone through when she was a child. Even when her home had been torn from her Wilks caught her from the fall. Life had dealt her a rather lucky hand in comparison. She tried to work out the best way to help make up for the pain, "is there anything I can do to get you back to your tribe?"

Freja sent her a look, "you kidding me? I wouldn't leave you with these two, as far as I can see you need all the help you can get. I'd appreciate being reunited with my tribe eventually. But first things first, I'm staying with you."

"Thank you," she smiled genuinely, letting herself relax a little for the first time as the child wriggled closer into her chest for warmth.

"It's a strange feeling isn't it," Freja murmured watching Aidie closely, "opening up to a feeling you never allowed yourself to have."

Aidie cautiously exchanged a look with her companion, "I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"It's funny," Freja continued, "when it does finally hit you, it will be like a kick in the guts. Such a small allowance of a possibility with huge repercussions. And once you open up to it there will be no going back from it."

Aidie frowned, rising to her feet to place the sleeping baby back between her surrogate protectors. She needed to distance herself from the confusing swirl of emotions Freja had rightly predicted.

"It's complicated," she sighed positioning herself from the prying eyes of her companion as she gazed out into the darkness.

Freja, not one to let the conversation drop so easily, slumped against the rock beside her, "You want to talk about it?"

Aidie took a moment, arms folded, back propped up against the rock, to contemplate the offer. She had grown up in a male environment all her life, men who lacked the ability or need to understand the emotions she kept bottled up. This was the first time a woman had offered a hand of compassion, no matter how convoluted her methods. She was half inclined to fully open out to her just for the sake of lifting the weight off her shoulders for once. Turning partially to her she took a breath just as a scuttling sound alerted them.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, almost in relief.

Freja nodded silently, dropping to a crouch and signalling to the direction of the sound. Aidie nodded, drawing her knife from her waist and taking the lead. They shuffled around the rocky terrain until they caught sight of movement in the darkness. It was small, like a dog in size but stockier and faster. They drew closer to it in order to gain some kind of idea to what the creature was. Then it turned to them and hissed.

Aidie leapt backwards in shock. Stepping between Freja and the creature. She hadn't seen Locust for a long time, but this was different, it looked wild. A Ticker with no bomb unnerved her almost as much as one with one.

She silently signalled Freja to take a step backwards, leaving the Ticker to its scuttling in the darkness. Retracing their steps back to the camp until they came upon a sight that made the pair stop in horror.

Four Lambent Drudges were heading in their direction.

"Get up," she urged their sleeping companions, "we need to go now!"

* * *

Cam watched as the campfire flickered and danced, waving against the cooling night breeze.

"Did I ever tell yer about yer ma?" he asked quietly.

Wilks released his pinch on the bridge of his nose momentarily to look up at him, "if this you trying to rekindle some half assed attempt to tell me about the life I never I had, stop it."

"I helped deliver you, yer know," Cam's vision was fixed on the fire light, "a tiny bawling scrappy thing. A spitting image of yer ma. She was a beautiful girl."

"Cam, I'm warning you," Wilks mumbled as he massaged his temples.

"Have the headaches started kid?" Cam eyed him carefully.

Wilks nodded in confirmation and returned to pinching the bridge of his nose, "it's mostly dull throbbing pressure."

"Keep fighting it kid, you're doing good,"

Lem who had been sitting against a rock nearby watched the exchange in silence as Cam continued his story from the past. Miles and Archer sat facing the fire listening quietly to Cam's chance to finally open up to the lad he had partially raised as his own.

"She was an Indie rebel, a turncoat that had seen the other side of the war. And for reasons I will never know she was madly in love with yer pa. He married her before the COG had a chance to arrest her for her actions during the war. And maybe he had feelings for her too, I'll never really know, but it was the only thing he did out of character his entire life so I can assume so. They were together a few years before she actually fell pregnant with you, although I'm certain the timing was planned. The COG had started closing in on Richard's war crimes and in particular his wife's crimes. Turned out yer ma was a wanted criminal and the Indies had been searching for years. They sentenced her to death, but yer pa kept her safe."

Cam glanced up at Ollyvar who had now dropped his hands to listen to every word, his brows furrowed slightly in confusion at this sudden revelation about his life.

"Yer pa kept her safe until the day you arrived. Onyx guards had been sent to fetch her and eliminate her before the Indies found out about her location. You came early kid, a month too early, but I had always said it was like you knew. Richard locked yer ma and me in the bedroom whilst I helped deliver you. She kept telling me that she had been trying to run from who she once was but she always knew it would catch up with her eventually."

"My parents were war criminals, seems fitting," Wilks grunted shaking his head in bewilderment.

"We could hear the guards arguing with yer pa outside the room and then you arrived shortly after. I held you in my arms as the guards smashed the door down, yer pa wrestled a gun from one of them walked up to yer beautiful mother and held it to her head. She knew it was the right thing, she looked him straight in the eyes and accepted her fate. Because Richard had carried the sentence out himself they exonerated him for harbouring a wanted fugitive, plus you gave him a small amount of immunity. He was an asshole, yer pa, but I had never seen him the way he was around yer ma before or since. I genuinely believe he loved her. You were left in her place and he was immensely proud of you. You were his legacy.

"What a legacy," Wilks scoffed, "and here's where it ends. How it started, you and me and nothing but death around us."

"I still remain hopeful that we'll find this cure for you in time," Cam poked at the dying fire with a stick as embers glinted and glowed back at him flickering up flames in response, life in death.

"What was her name?" He asked quietly staring at the fire in contemplation.

"Aliana,"

Wilks nodded thoughtfully before eventually speaking, "Thank you Cam. He never spoke of her his entire life."

"He had his reasons,"

"Aidie and I once argued about knowing our parents and I told her that she was lucky that she would never know their fate, even though I knew I was lying to myself. There wasn't a day that I didn't think about my mother or why I looked nothing like my father."

"You always looked like yer ma, the older you grew the more you looked like her. Possibly the reason why yer pa turned the way he did to you,"

The men were silent for a while all five staring contemplatively into the darkness. Wilks was the first to break the silence.

"After all these years I still wonder why," he said quietly, Miles and Cam glanced back at each other as if they had been expecting it, "he made me feel like I meant so little to him, so why would he shoot himself?"

"I think that was the point kid," Cam answered solemnly, "after everything that happened between you and him, despite all the disagreements you both had. Regardless of anything else that happened to him since, you were the only thing he cared fiercely about. And losing you was something he would never have been able to handle. So _he_ made the choice so you didn't have to."


	15. Chapter 15 - Shattered Glass

**Author's Note -** Well after all the hype of the new Gears I must admit I was not disappointed, it's given me some interesting options and ideas for future works of written waffle.

Anyway I thought I'd get the next chapter out to you, it's much shorter than the others I must admit, but it's pretty intense. So I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for all the reads, it's nice to know that there are people out there reading my mass of nonsense.

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen - Shattered Glass**

* * *

"We need to stop!" Sofie shouted out, "the baby needs to feed."

"I am not stopping for you again Sofie," Aidie snapped back, as the ground shook and another Stalk burst through the acrid landscape nearby, "We will not be stopping till we are at the Church so we can arm ourselves. I don't care how much that child cries."

"She's hungry," Sofie's brow furrowed angrily.

"Yeah and I'm bloody exhausted, but neither of us are going to get what we want right now. We get to the Church and the child can feast for however long it wants."

"I told you I'm not going back to that place,"

"Well tough," Aidie grabbed hold of Sofie's wrist to heave her onwards, but she dragged her feet to slow them down, "stop it, don't make me do this."

"Let go of me Aidan, if you want to protect this child then fine, but you don't have a maternal bone in your body and will probably kill it,"

"Get over yourself Sofie,"

Emma stepped abruptly between the pair and plucked the child from Sofie, "I'll carry her till we get to the Church, she'll be fine a little longer. If you two ladies can finish your squabble quickly so we can get to the Church before the Lambent do."

Aidie released Sofie's wrist and they stared uncomfortably back at each other. Sofie's dark expression burned hatefully back at her whilst Aidie's stare froze any chance of the pair patching up their differences.

"If you want to get back to Tate, then you have to work with me," Aidie attempted to reason.

"You don't tell me what to do, let's face it, if you don't get me back to the village in one piece you will have failed as a Gear or whatever it is you call yourself. You'll be a walking failure and likely banished from the village," Sofie spat with a look of pure hatred.

"Whatever Sofie," Aidie muttered as she stormed away, one hand twitching over the handle of the blade, it would be too easy. She surged forward as she tried to concentrate on following Emma, Freja and getting to the Church. She could hear Sofie trudging angrily behind her heels, clearly frustrated at Aidie taking the higher ground.

"What _is_ your use anyway," Sofie sniped behind her, "I mean c'mon look at you. You're not even a real Gear, it's like you got into your dead daddy's dressing up box and tried to be like him."

"I was trained in a COG run Compound to be a Gear, I recited the Octus Canon and I carry the tags like every other Gear. I fight the monsters so you don't have to. I don't wear the armour like the others because I am a Longshot specialist." Aidie recited the words she had frequently given to doubters, subconsciously reaching for her tags around her neck and remembered they were gone.

"You keep telling yourself that,"

Aidie whirled round, "What _is_ your problem Sofie. Because I'm still racking my brain as to what I can do that won't incite you any further. I can't do anything right and I'm getting fed up of tiptoeing around you."

Sofie stopped and eyed her up and down, trying to work out whether she should dignify an answer. She scowled before pushing her way past her.

"I should have known," Aidie shook her head in bemusement.

Sofie hesitated for a moment, "I already made my feelings clear, I don't need to explain myself further."

"I didn't expect you to," Aidie drew alongside her, "but whatever your problems are with me you need to get over yourself. Because I'm not going anywhere."

The pair caught up abruptly to Emma and Freja who were standing in silence, partially hidden behind a rocky wall. Emma held the child close to her as she lowered herself to a squat to hide further whilst Freja had positioned herself for a clearer view. Sofie didn't need any words and followed suit. Aidie kept close as she angled herself beside Freja.

The Church itself remained standing, its ancient structure resolute throughout, but its surrounding statues had now tumbled to their doom around the ripped up courtyard where the Lambent Stalks had torn through the landscape. Aidie caught movement inside the Church and squinted to ascertain her suspicions.

Locust.

She had always known that the Locust had been out there somewhere, she had scoped them in the distance only a few days earlier. But it had been a while since she had seen a Drone, walking the Church grounds like it belonged, in all its horrific glory. They had adapted like the humans around them, the armour had shed a lot of its bulkier components but still keeping the essential aspects. It carried a weapon that resembled similarities to the Lancer, instead a long bayonet blade had been fixed to the underside of the muzzle.

An indescribable terror overcame her. Like she was a kid again, unarmed and helpless. The monsters had frightened her for every waking moment of her childhood. They were the reason she had grown up in a Compound filled with parentless children, taught to fear her gender and anything that was different. They had ripped apart her pitiful existence as a scared little girl and forced her into the protective arms of Sergeant Wilks where she had grown into the woman she was now. She had become stronger because of them. In fact they were a redemption. But even now the scared child remained deep within, hidden inside a part of her that had never been influenced by the man who had guided her through her fears. His strength had given her the courage to face the darkness. And now it was time to do it alone.

But then everyone needed a rite of passage at some point in their lives.

She let out a breath to steady herself then turned to the women hidden behind the wall. They needed her to keep her head together. It was time to be the Gear she was trained to be.

"Stay hidden, no matter what,"

"What about you?" Freja asked her hesitantly.

"I'm going to do something very stupid," she let out a slight laugh to herself then addressed Sofie, "hey at least if this goes terribly wrong it'll up your chances at getting Wilks back."

Freja placed a hand on her wrist, "let me come with you, I can help."

She shook her head adamantly, "No, you are the only one that stands between those three and the Locust down there if my plan goes awry."

She slipped away from them, darting silently between rocks and Stalks to assess the amount of Locust she was dealing with. Not that it mattered whether there were one or fifty, she had once witnessed two Drones mow down an entire room filled with children. They were bred to bring death regardless of numbers.

They had come out of the church now, five savage looking Locust, all with differing levels of weaponry that they had clearly scavenged from somewhere. She hoped it wasn't from the ammunition box hidden in the building. They grunted and growled at each other as they nervously circled the Lambent Stalks around them. Their diverted attention gave her a chance to approach closer than she hoped, adrenalin driving her onwards before her brain told her otherwise. A sickening heady feeling coursed through her as she scrabbled between cover, trying to work out her best tactic. She paused to watch as one signalled to fire at a pulsing pod on a Stalk, sensing their caution as if they were uncertain on their next step. She had stopped longer than she intended, but the last thing she expected was to come face to face with a hidden sixth Drone.

Its amber eyes lit up in delight as it realised it had caught her unaware. She let out a startled gasp and scrabbled for her knife, holding it out in defence trying to fight back the quiver in her hands. The Drone let out a guttural chuckle at her futile attempts and slid out its own dagger in response. It twisted the blade in the sunlight with its teeth bared in a grimace as it breathed a putrid breath over her. She felt her fear slowly ebb into frustration, not able to understand why it hadn't finished the job already and sliced her throat. Why was it toying with her?

"Do it," she seethed.

It blinked at her, calculating its options and tilting its head. For the first time she realised it was smaller than the other Locust, thinner, weaker. One arm hung lifeless at its side and she could see muscle had been ripped out of its bicep and it was missing a few fingers. It wasn't messing with her, it was hesitating because it was unsure it could do the job. There was no way she would have taken on a fully armed healthy Locust, but this one, she stood at least a chance at escaping. She swallowed and took all the strength inside her to look the Drone in the eyes, letting out a breath as it eventually followed suit to stare back at her.

"So much hatred between us and neither of us are willing to back down, but there's going to have to be a loser," She spoke softly to it, forcing down every inch of disgust from her.

It let out a grumble in its throat as if it was contemplating a response, she would never really know whether it actually understood what she had said. But she knew there was no way she going to humanise it. She put all her weight into throwing herself at it, hitting it square in the chest with her shoulder and forcing it to the dirt. It was strong, stronger than she realised, but there was only one way this fight was going to end and she didn't intend on losing.

It struggled and grunted as its good arm tried to thrust itself upwards against her chin, its claws catching hold and slicing downwards. She stifled a yelp as she lashed out at it with her knife, then swung herself sideways landing a blow in the Drone's kidney region to give her time. It squirmed from her as she grabbed hold of its good arm and wrestled it away from its body as it fought against her, slapping her backwards with its huge fist. She swung her leg over its waist to straddle it, spitting out blood as she did so and put all her strength into holding it down, ramming her blade into its palm in an attempt to limit its reactions. Its skin was thick forcing her to push her weight jabbing it harder into its hand. It let out a slight bellow as she leaned her arm into its mouth to muffle the noise, pushing heavily against it, the last thing she wanted was for it to alert the others. Its legs kicked and bucked out as its useless hand floundered around for something to help it. It tried to bite down on her arm the harder she pressed down against its mouth, she felt the sharpness of its teeth against the leather straps on her forearm. With her other hand she struggled as she slid out its own blade from its hip holster and angled it to thrust it hard upwards into its throat. It flailed and gurgled as blood bubbled up to its mouth, splattering her in the face. Quickly she withdrew the dagger and watched it choke on the sudden rush of blood, it spluttered and pooled around them, until it gazed lifelessly back at her.

She prised herself reluctantly off the Drone gasping and heaving as her adrenalin pounded through her system. Her face stung where it had grabbed her and she felt herself start to shake as she realised what she had done. There was so much blood.

Now was not the time to fall apart, she admonished herself.

She rolled the Locust onto its front so she could unhook the giant retro looking Lancer from its sling and slid her knife back into the covering hooked to her waist. She unstrapped the sheath from the Drone's dagger and knotted it to her thigh, two knives were always better than one. The Lancer was massive even for her so she slung it over her shoulder in case it would be needed.

She glanced down at the slumped lifeless body of the slaughtered Drone. She had never thought herself capable of killing a Locust in close quarters, a few years ago it wouldn't have been possible. Arguably it still wasn't. The pitiful example of a Locust crumpled at her feet was half as powerful as its stronger fully able buddies nearby.

She looked up to locate the other Locust, in case they were hiding in wait for her. They had dropped themselves into cover as another Stalk broke through the ground. A pulsing pod burst open and spewed out a gnarled monstrosity followed by a wave of Polyps.

Aidie took this as the diversion she needed to gain access to the Church. She dropped to a crouch and edged along the side of the building till she reached the back window. She unhooked the Lancer and wriggled through the gap, dropping quietly to the floor to assess whether any Locust had remained in the building. Once satisfied she was safe she leaned back out to pull the Retro Lancer in after her, placing it on the floor hidden under a pew in case she needed to run back to retrieve it, then went on to hunt out the ammunition box. She crawled around on her hands and knees searching under the rotting pews for the elusive weaponry stash.

"Where the hell is it?" she muttered to herself after going through the entire floor.

As she stood up to take in the room as a whole, a glint of coloured light reflected on the wall and caught her attention. She turned to examine a broken pane of painted glass still clinging to the window frame. She could see a picture of something she couldn't entirely depict and then realised that she had been searching incorrectly. She'd been looking for weapons like a scavenger, like a Locust. But the people who worshipped here had trusted and loved their deities wholeheartedly. The Church was an escape from the destruction of the world around them. The weapons would have been a gift for their protection.

She needed to find the main worship room.

As she looked further at the faded scriptures etched onto the cracked walls she realised she kept seeing the same picture again and again. A white flower blossoming. She followed the detailing, her fingers running along the walls until she felt a shift in the panelling. Butterflies flitted around her stomach suddenly. She leaned against it and felt the wall push open to reveal a semi intact staircase leading upwards. She let out a breath as she stepped cautiously one step at a time. How was it possible for Sera to keep hiding so many different secrets from a time long forgotten. As she reached the top step, one hand hovering hesitantly over her knife, an attic lit by the coloured light of a shattered glass window revealed to her not only an ammunition box but an entire room filled with weapons.

"Thank the Allfathers," she felt herself breathe in awe.

She crept carefully and slowly along the wooden flooring, feeling herself drawn to the dusty Longshot. She unhooked it off the wall and held it delicately in her hands. She pulled the chamber back to assess whether it was still functioning and fished in her pocket for a couple of bullets, sliding them delicately in place. She quietly crept to the window, using two fingers to wiggle one of the jagged pieces of glass out of its rotten window hold. It gave way easily and she prised it from the glass to give her a space to scope the Locust. As she placed the glass on the floorboard it slipped and sliced through her palm. She hissed as she sucked in a breath and clenched her fist in pain.

"I promise you this is for a good cause," she spoke quietly to the spirits around her.

She dropped to her knees and placed the barrel of the Longshot against the window. She peered down the scope to assess the gunfight outside, more Lambent were surrounding the Locust now. She had one chance to take a creature out without being seen. She watched as a towering Lambent Drudge squealed in gurgled glee as it grabbed hold of a fallen Drone by its head, slung it in the air like a ragdoll and ripped its legs away from its torso. The Locust dropped back, firing at the beast in response.

Two monsters, but what was the lesser of the two evils?

She lined up her target in the scope and watched it for a moment, there was no easy choice. Both would be coming for her the moment she fired her weapon. She felt a sudden wobble in her confidence, a feeling that made her want to question herself, was she even capable of doing this alone? She closed her eyes and let out a series of short sharp breaths until she felt the nervousness settle itself.

"I know," she breathed, "not the best tactic. But what other choice do I have?"

Then without thinking further she brought the scope to her eye lined up her target and pulled the trigger.


	16. Chapter 16 - To The Brink

**Author's Note -** Apologies on delay in releasing this chapter, have been a little preoccupied writing a small short based off Gears 4, watch this space as soon as I'm ready to release it here you'll know about it.

Anyway, back to torturing Wilks...

Thanks to everyone who has read, followed and reviewed over the past month. I know you're out there and it's greatly appreciated that you're staying around to keep reading. Here's to the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen - To the Brink**

* * *

Miles caught up with Cam as the squad cautiously edged their way through the jungle of Lambent Stalks. He made sure that the others were out of earshot before he spoke.

"So tell me," he grunted, "do you make a habit out of lying to people?"

Cam remained silent for a moment longer than Miles was comfortable with, "the kid heard the important facts."

"Aside the truth he needed to know,"

"Yer seriously think that telling the boy his pa actually put the gun to his son's head instead of his own would make his condition any better? There are some things that are better left untold."

"He deserves to know what kind of man his father was,"

"He already knows, Miles, telling him that his pa pulled the trigger on him is only going to make matters worse,"

They drew to a halt as Cam pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pouch to scout the area. He ushered Miles backwards so they were hidden behind the hulking mass of a stalk. He scrutinised the view carefully, passing the binoculars to Miles to share his discovery.

"Locust, well I'll be, I certainly didn't expect to see them this far away from home,"

"They have as much a home as we do these days,"

"I must admit I've missed killing these bastards," Miles glanced down at his broken arm, "shame I have to sit this one out."

Cam snorted, "as if. Yer've never sat out any opportunity to blast them to bits, why change it now?"

Miles wiggled his arm to indicate the obvious, flinching as he did.

"Never stopped yer before," Cam lightly nudged Miles' shoulder, "And there's me thinking Tate was the only hypochondriac amongst us."

Miles sent Cam a hurt look, "too soon, Cam."

"What's too soon?" Wilks' voice interrupted the pair, drawing behind a Stalk to join them.

"Miles thinks he can sit this one out," Cam offered the binoculars to his Sergeant to explain his reasoning.

"Ahh Locust, is it wrong to say I've missed them?" Wilks took a breath as he observed the terrain around them, "nah Miles. Just because you've always hated the Snub. Point and fire man. Only takes one hand. Plus if I have to fight through it, so do you."

"Boyscout,"

Wilks sent him a wink as he returned the binoculars back to Cam.

"Okay tactics, let's face it we can't just go running in guns blazing,"

"Because that didn't stop you back at that hell hole," Archer commented sharply as he and a chained Lem finally drew up to them.

"Yeah but Locust are a speciality of mine, I know how the bastards think. The Lambent, I don't have a bloody clue." he winced slightly as a jolt of pain surged through his temples. Not wanting to incite any further sympathy from his squad he clenched his teeth and continued on, "Right I suggest we split up, Cam and Archer, myself and Miles. Use the Stalks as cover and flank the Grubs, take 'em either side."

"And me?" Lem questioned.

Everyone except Wilks gave him a disapproving look.

"You're coming with me,"

"He is?" Miles frowned, "the kid hasn't even got a weapon."

Wilks drew his Gorgon from its holster, flicked it around a finger and offered it to him grip first. Lem stared incredulously at it before fixing Wilks with a questioning look.

"Why?"

Wilks clenched his teeth as he swallowed back a lump in his throat, "It was Aidie's, she would have wanted it to come to good use."

Lem's mouth remained agape as his chained hands jointly reached out for the gun, gingerly taking it between his clammy fingers to examine it.

"I remember seeing her handling this years ago, never even thought to ask about it,"

"She preferred it to the Snub,"

"She wasn't the only one," Miles added sharply, waving his own weapon around.

Wilks sent Miles a sly look, "you complain but I know you excel with the obscure. I've seen you headshot with that beast."

"When I had two capable hands!"

"Since when have you been one to turn down a challenge?"

Miles grumbled to himself as he leaned the Snub against his useless arm to check the magazine, "let's get this over with."

"Okay gents," Wilks positioned himself behind the Stalk, hand held up to silence his squad, "at my signal. Cam you know the score."

Cam nodded, Boltok at the ready. He silently indicated to Archer their planned movements and the pair prepared themselves for Wilks' sign as he counted down from three on his fingers.

Go.

The squad split either side of the Locust, carefully picking their way towards their target. Using the Stalks to their advantage they managed to remain unseen until the squad had flanked them. Silently Wilks slid out Aidie's Longshot, clicking in a couple of bullets into the barrel and raised the sights to his eye. From experience he knew her weapon fired slightly to the left so he adjusted his trajectory and followed his target carefully.

Cam and Archer watched as the Kantus scouting from the back of the Horde dropped dead, it's brain splattering outwards from Wilks' precise hit. The Grenadier nearby turned at the sound and let out a howl to alert the group. This gave the squad their signal. Wilks charged forwards, exchanging the Longshot for Lancer, mowing down three Wretches that headed his direction. He dropped behind the safety of a stalk as the Locust turned their attention to him, giving Cam and Archer an opportunity to take them from behind. The Horde started to split apart from their unit, concentrating on the divided attack.

Lem aimed the Gorgon hesitantly as he veered his body awkwardly away from the direction he was firing. The bullets stuttered erratically and hit the stalk Wilks stood behind.

"I know my prognosis is bleak, but I'd appreciate it if you prolonged my life a little longer," Wilks yelled back in response.

"Sorry!"

Miles elbowed himself close to Lem, "kid, the gun won't bite. The closer to you it is, the more control you have."

As if to prove his point he aimed across his body with the Snub, leaning it against his broken arm. Twisting to position himself he pulled the trigger and took the helmet off the Boomer.

"Nearly!" came Wilks' response as he churned a round of bullets into the advancing brute.

"Give me a break Ol, I'm working off one arm," Miles bellowed back.

"And Cam is freakishly short, your point?" Wilks holstered the Lancer and pulled out his Gnasher leaping out to avoid the Boomshot blast as he fired back within closer quarters.

Lem gulped down a nervous breath and steadied himself, despite his time with the Nightmares he had rarely encountered Locust. He still firmly considered them as monsters, forever destined to lurk within his dreams. The Locust murdered his family, it was never going to change, no matter how much he faced them.

Then he watched the squad, still a group of strangers to him, he could see how they protected one another. Wilks, clearly the strongest of the group took the most fire power and attracted most attention. Allowing Cam and Archer with their powerful smaller weapons to pick off the unsuspecting Locust, counting off the head shots as they went. This gave Miles and himself, the injured and weak a chance to regain some control. It gave him the strength he needed to lift his weapon and start firing at the attacking monsters.

Cam slotted another round of bullets into his Sawn-Off cocked the barrel and charged forwards, taking out a Grenadier. A rain of pink mist showered over him as he darted around the remains. Archer called out as he fired across at a Beast Rider and its Steed. The bullet sliced through the Rider's neck, it scrabbled momentarily at the shock, thrown dramatically from its beast as it choked in its own blood. The creature now released from any control made a charge towards its human target. Archer fled backwards, twisting to fire his weapon at the advancing brute. Tugging on the trigger until the hollow sound of an empty magazine clicked back at him and the creature tumbled awkwardly to his feet. It twitched slightly as its nerves jangled a delayed response. Without hesitation Archer stomped heavily upon its skull, crushing the cranium and splattering its brain under his hefty boots.

Wilks revved his chainsaw as he charged at another Drone, it met him face to face with its own Retro Lancer, jamming the blade between the teeth of the saw. They pushed back against one another jostling for control, arms raised as their Lancers kept the pair apart. A sudden surge of pain darted up Wilks' spine to the nerve centre in his head. He let out an involuntary cry, flinching back from the Locust before him and dropping to his knees. The Drone seizing its chance thrust back the bayonet to follow through with its kill shot.

Miles angled his Snub, drawing the weapon closer to him to perfect his shot and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced the Drone's brain before it knew there was another threat. It stared glassy eyed for a moment at Wilks before collapsing forwards.

"Shit, shit, shit," Wilks swore in panic as he thrust the body from him, staggering unsteadily to his feet.

"You okay Ol?" Miles asked in concern, peering out from cover to check.

Wilks stared down at his hands, unable to lift his Lancer to defend himself further.

"Olly?" Miles hollered, "talk to me."

"Fuck it," the Sergeant muttered as he drew himself back from the midst of the fight, stumbling over his own feet and dropping heavily behind a stalk.

"Cam, we need you!" Miles yelled over the foray loud enough to alert his Medic's attention, "Olly's down!"

Miles and Lem both took on the next approaching Drone, the pair blasted at it until it dropped to the ground in defeat. Behind it Cam, raged at the remaining Locust, Boltok in one hand, slumped Wretch in another. The faded tribal tattoos that decorated his face flashed a glimpse of the native that hid beneath the calm exterior. He thrust the carcass off his shoulder and rolled forward to avoid a blast from another Locust, holstering his pistol and drawing his Sawn-Off out again. He yelled angrily as he charged towards his next target, swerving around the stalks to throw them off his tactics. Eventually he drew up behind it, blasting it apart, the force of his strike threw the beast forwards to its face in a bloodied mess.

Cam's chest heaved as he assessed the scene, taking in each fallen beast quickly as he strode urgently to his squad.

"Where is he?" he boomed.

Miles nodded an indication towards Wilks' direction and Cam headed to him. He cast a cursory glance over him as he sat with his head between his knees, hands linked over the back of his skull.

"Don't even say it," Wilks snapped before Cam had a chance to open his mouth.

"Okay, I won't"

"I'm a fucking liability," he lifted one hand off his head and held it out to show Cam. It shook as if in convulsion until he drew it to his chest in protection.

"It's all in your head, you know you've beaten worse,"

"I put the squad in jeopardy, couldn't keep my fucking head together. My mistake could have cost your lives, fuck, Miles can't even hold a weapon bigger than a pistol and that boy has likely never fired a gun before. I could have got them both killed,"

"Except it wasn't a mistake, you're fighting two battles here kid and the one in yer head is losing,"

"No Cam, I'm not doing this. Not anymore," He struggled to his feet as if he had made his mind up, picking his Lancer and trudged away from them.

"Where's he going?" Archer asked as he drew level with Miles.

"To a dark place,"

"Shouldn't we be following him?"

"This is Cam's domain, he's done this all before,"

Archer let out a tired sigh as he let the small Islander plod slowly after the Sergeant. Opting to dig through the Locust remains for any interesting loot.

* * *

Wilks stormed a fair distance away before he set himself upon a stalk, yelling as he punched at it until his knuckles bled. He kept going as he felt tears spill which made him angrier and want to punch it harder. A strong arm stopped him mid throw and wrestled him backwards.

"Just bloody stop fer once," Cam fixed him with his stare, "Once in yer life. Just. Stop."

"What's the fucking point," he all but screamed at him in defiance, but didn't resist Cam's grip, "I try to keep my head in the game and I'm still screwed. Fucking hell what a useless piece of..."

"Ollyvar stop it,"

Wilks gazed at nothing before flicking his dark eyes back at him, looking like the scared child Cam had grown all too familiar with.

"She's dead, Cam," he slumped forwards in defeat, "I lost her."

"C'mon kid,"

"Why?" he asked innocently, "if I survive this it still won't bring her back."

"You don't know that, we never found her remains back in that place, she's a tough kid."

"She's an eighteen year old girl who I promised to protect, I failed her," He winced as the pain seared through his temples again in response, "in so many ways I failed her."

"Don't you dare," Cam gripped his arms and shook him, "don't you _dare_ give in. I will never forgive you if you let this beat you. I watched yer pa self destruct in front of me, I won't let it happen to you."

"It's too late,"

"The problem with you is that you feel like you should be protecting everyone, especially her. She came to us inexperienced, scared and needing protection. Two years you trained her, you pushed her until she could take no more and she pushed you back. She challenged everything you set out for her, because you underestimated her capabilities. You spent so long worrying that she was going to walk away that you didn't stop to realise that she had no intention of doing so. She's a confident strong young woman, a credit to your hard work. And once again yer underestimating her, she's out there, I know it."

Wilks relaxed a little in Cam's hold, listening to the words he wanted to believe were true. He unclenched his fists, allowing the blood to seep along his fingers.

"There's something else," Cam admitted quietly, wondering whether he should be revealing the following information for the sake of his Sergeant's sanity, "she came to me the other week for her regular check up. There was something amiss with her blood work so I investigated it further, as best as I could in this wasteland. She's carrying your child Ollyvar, very early days but there was no denying it."

Wilks' desperate dark eyes fixed upon him as he gave him a look that shocked him.

"You knew?"

"The two years I've slept beside her, you see things, learn to pick up on details she may not have wanted me to see. The events at the church furthered my assumptions. And now, you've just confirmed my fears,"

"Why didn't yer say anything?"

"Because she was so adamant about not being that person," regret lacing his voice, "they gave her a boy's name to hide her, for Pete's sake. And I, the asshole that I am, promised to protect her from that bloody existence. Then I end up being the one who knocks her up regardless, what a fucking joke. I fucked up so many lives the day that happened. I deserve what's happening to me right now, all this pain is payback for my stupidity."

"She never discussed anything further with you? Because she most certainly did with me,"

"She knew my feelings on the matter," he sighed, "there were times I'd catch her playing with the boys, rocking Tate's babies to sleep when she thought no one was looking. But the moment she knew people were looking the shield would be right back up. She would have made a wonderful mother."

"Have you ever considered what you'd say to her if she's alive out there?"

" _If_ she's alive…" He thoughtfully stared at his hands, "I guess she'd have the freedom to do what she wanted. I promised never to hold her back, regardless of what it meant to me."

* * *

Miles waited for Cam as he tiredly returned to them.

"Well," he asked, searching around for any sign of Wilks behind the Islander, "what lies have you told him now?"

"We should have known it would always come down to Aidie. No story about the dead mother he never knew was ever going to bring him back from the edge. Aidan has become the only one capable of keeping him rooted."

"What the hell have you told him?"

"I'm done losing Wilks family members on my watch, Miles. His mother, his father and now him. I've had enough," he gave Miles a distressed look.

"Oh Cam you didn't," Miles read his buddy quicker than he realised, "that wasn't yours to tell."

"He was self destructing in front of me Miles," Cam snapped back, "one moment later and he would have pulled the Gnasher on himself."

"You give him very little credit here, you think he would ever put us through what his father did to him?"

"I wasn't willing to risk it," Cam dropped his gaze to the floor.

"So instead of slapping him round the face and telling him to pull himself together, you tell him something you really had no right to share. What if she's dead Cam, what the hell is that going to do to him?"

"I just need him to fight this until we get the cure, we'll deal with the fallout later,"

Miles shook his head pitifully and made to walk away from him, "if this is as far as you'll stoop, I don't know you anymore."

Cam grabbed his arm to pull him closer, Miles flinched at the touch against his broken arm.

"He's _my_ boy Miles, I was the first one to look into those dark scared eyes as his father blasted his mother's brains out. There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep him safe. It's always been me, his father was always out for his own agenda full of deceit and selfishness. I was always there for that kid. I stopped that bastard from planting a bullet in him. He may not be my son, but he's mine. I loved him when his father didn't. And I'll sure as hell push him to keep fighting until he can do it without me."

Miles stared back at him silently for a moment, blinking in thought before responding, "you're bloody lucky you have him then."

* * *

On further inspection it transpired that they weren't the only ones tracking the Nightmares, the Locust had also been on the hunt. Archer tracked back the movements to a campsite not overly far from their intercept. He assessed the footsteps and the disturbance in the dirt and concluded that their situation was far worse than he imagined.

He returned to the others as they prepared themselves for their next step.

"Do you want the good news or the bad?" he said.

"Why do I get the feeling that the good news is just going to be trumped by the bad," Miles responded.

"I've found a campsite, judging from all of our tracking it has to be theirs and they only seem to be a few hours in front of us. The bad news, I think the mercenaries joined forces with those creatures. I found human footprints, a significant amount of them gathered together barefoot. They were all heading in one direction."

"Dare I even ask?"

"The village, we need to get back,"

"Couldn't agree more," Wilks interrupted from behind them, as he pealed his fingerless gloves back over his newly bandaged fists. Flexing his hands to fight back the tremor that threatened to return if he allowed it. His squad knew not to question his lapse of control. He was back, that was all that mattered.


	17. Chapter 17 - This Woman's Work

**Author's Note -** Moving swiftly on, a chapter about the girls. Just to prolong Wilks' agony a little further.

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen - This Woman's Work**

* * *

Considering her expertise, Aidie had always struggled to play the waiting game. Her stubborn, impulsive nature wanted nothing more than to just finish it. However, a part of her that had been trained by Wilks had become increasingly dominant in her decision-making process. And it was this part that made her wait out the confrontation below. She watched as the Lambent ripped and tore apart at the attacking Locust, timing each of her shots to coincide with that of the battling creatures. Dropping out of sight each time one of them would look her way. She assisted both parties for her gain until the final Locust glanced backwards and caught her. It let out a roar and charged towards the church.

She leapt to her feet and grabbed a Gnasher, her feet fumbling their way down the stairs as she raced to beat the Locust to the door. She heaved it backwards just as the Drone caught sight of her. It let out a snarl and swung itself towards her. She lifted the Gnasher and pulled the trigger just as it grabbed for her, causing the shot to swerve off target at its face. She fell, knocking the weapon out of her hands, as the spray of blood and bone splattered back at her. The Drone let out a gurgled scream, half of its cheek blown apart, it clutched desperately to protect its damaged face. Then fixed her with its unblinking eyes and lunged angrily at her weapon. Aidie scrambled on her hands and knees to get to it, but the Locust's huge boots stomped heavily on her fingers to stop her. She out a yelp, wrenching her hand away from it. It grabbed hold of her, roughly hoisting her to her feet and slamming her against the wall as it reached down for the Gnasher. She heaved out a breath at the impact then fixed on its bloodied face with steely eyes.

"Go on then," she sneered, "I dare you."

It bore its teeth at her in response, panting out blood from between its fangs. It staggered forwards lifting the Gnasher and pulled the trigger.

Aidie braced herself, closing her eyes and tilting her head to the sky in prayer.

 _I'm sorry I let you down, Wilks._

Silence

She chanced a glance. The Drone stared at the weapon confused and outraged that it dare jam on its shot. It let out a growl as it pulled the trigger again and again at her in frustration, angling it upwards to see if something had jammed within the barrel. Just as the weapon misfired blowing its head off.

Aidie stared back in disbelief feeling her knees go weak as her strength left her.

"How..." she panted, "How was that even possible."

As if in answer the floorboards creaked above her from the weaponry room, even though she knew there was no one up there.

"Thank you," she whispered to the silence.

It took her a minute to gather her nerves. She closed her eyes in silent contemplation, trying to comprehend the possibility of what she had witnessed. There was no way the Allfathers had somehow prevented the gun from going off. It was an old weapon that hadn't been used for a long time. Plus she could have knocked something when it flew from her hands. And yet, it misfired at a perfect opportunity.

"Archer's so going to laugh at me if I ever get the chance to explain that to him," she muttered to herself as she finally drew to her feet to stagger unsteadily out of the church.

Out in the courtyard, she was able to take in the extent of the battle and her place in it. The danger had passed. They were safe. For now.

The women waited for her signal before they carefully picked their way over to her, Freja taking the lead in case any further threat arose. Emma took in Aidie as they entered the courtyard, she gently guided her by the arm to one of the pews to assess her injuries.

"Oh child, look at you,"

Aidie flinched slightly, "I'm all right, it's not my blood. At least I don't think it is."

Freja entered the church in curiosity, allowing Emma to attend to Aidie while she went in search of the promised firearms. The door was still wide open otherwise she would have easily missed it. Eagerly she rushed up the stairs and took in the weapons in excitement.

"Well I'll be," she nodded in approval, "little COG girl did well for herself."

She retrieved an older version of the Torque Bow, a little on the rusty side but it still seemed to do the job just fine. Then dug around for added extras through the ammunition box, adding a few grenades to her arsenal.

Aidie had grown impatient of Emma's attentiveness.

"Please Emma, I'm okay," she placed a hand on her wrist to stop her.

"Let me clean you up,"

"Emma, I'm fine," she stood up abruptly and ushered the older lady to her seat, "Please, it's okay."

She grumbled in disapproval but accepted the chance to sit and rest a little. It gave Aidie the opportunity to finally have a breather from the attention. She entered the courtyard in reluctant search for Sofie and instantly wished she had come sooner.

Sofie stood outside the courtyard walls on her knees staring at the four graves of her children, with the baby clutched protectively to her chest. Her eyes drifted from one to another in a lost gaze as she battled with her demons. Aidie drew silently behind her at a loss as to how to approach her.

Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, its boom rolling through the wasteland enough to shake the ground.

"He proposed you know," Sofie quietly spoke, aware of Aidie's presence without even announcing herself, "several times over. And each time I turned him down."

Aidie had a feeling they were no longer talking about Sofie's unrequited feelings for Wilks now, the emotion in her voice. The pain she was going through was all too real and all too fresh.

"The first time we gazed upon our beautiful twins, he gathered us in his arms and asked me. He swore he would never stop asking until the day came that I would say yes. After everything I did to him, despite how much I hurt him. He still forgave me, and he still asked. I was never good enough for him." she looked down at the child that wasn't hers and felt a tear streak its way down her cheek.

"I am so sorry," Aidie gently responded, "how can I help?"

Sofie paused then half twisted to face her, "get me home so I can promise Tate I will never leave his side again."

She nodded in agreement, "of course."

Sofie turned back to stare at the graves, "now please leave me, I need to spend some time with my children one last time."

* * *

The women left the church at sundown, using the cover of night to their advantage. Aidie led them to the rope ladder, untwisting it from the hiding place and shaking it out for them. Freja volunteered to go ahead, now readily armed to protect them from above while Aidie stayed below to ensure Emma and Sofie made it up safely. The baby cradled into a sling against Sofie's chest, now allowing her full use of her hands to protect herself should any situation arise. They scaled the cliff carefully and quietly, Aidie pulling the rope ladder up after them to prevent anyone from tracking them.

Emma took the lead, knowing the route better than the others and sensing the urgency for them to get home. Together they were lighter on their feet, allowing them to scale the harder to manoeuvre pathways and cut through a quicker route again. Aidie felt herself flagging for the first time, finding herself an excuse to stop. She scoped the route as she caught her breath.

As they reached the peak of the incline into the later part of the afternoon, Emma stopped to take in the scenery. She paused as she caught movement and indicated for Aidie to take a look. Aidie drew the sights to her eye and tracked along the canyon.

"What the hell?.." she frowned, passing the scope to Freja to assess the situation.

A breath hitched in Freja's throat as she caught a glimpse of what Aidie and Emma had seen.

"Formers, lots of them," she confirmed.

"You mean those creatures we saw back in those cells?" Sofie asked worriedly, placing a hand on the baby in protection.

"Yeah but they aren't alone," Aidie concentrated further, adjusting the clarity of the scope, "those mercenaries are with them."

"I don't know which one is more of a monster," Sofie muttered, "they all need destroying."

Aidie couldn't help notice Freja flinch at Sofie's candidness. She opted to save her response for a moment where she could inquire later.

"But why are they all the way down here?" Emma asked, "they're about a day out from the village. Surely you don't think they're heading to it?"

"Those Formers will tear the place apart," Aidie said, "we need to get back. How far off are we now Emma?"

"A few hours away but it's a steady drop so the faster we go the more chance of breaking something,"

"I think it's a risk we're going to have to take. We have to warn the village before those creatures get close,"

They pushed ahead down the steady gradient that would eventually lead them back to the village. The earth was dry and loose underfoot, and a few times one of them would stumble and slip until they were caught and righted again. They pushed their pain to the back of their minds as they fought off aching cramps in their tired muscles. The conversation had dropped to the bare minimum.

The baby let out a yowl of protest as Sofie stepped awkwardly on a rock sending her downwards. Aidie quickly reached out and grabbed her by the arm, righting her before she hit the ground. Sofie kept her arm linked through hers longer than either were aware until she glanced across at the younger blonde and let out a tired sigh.

"Do you need to rest?" Aidie asked, realising how much Sofie had taken on by herself to feed and protect the baby "or eat."

"I'm just tired, is all, I just want to get back now,"

Aidie nodded, trying to work out how she could help her, "I can take the baby a little while if you'd like."

"No, I don't," Sofie tried to bite the sharpness back, "I failed my children, I couldn't protect them. So I'm sure as hell not going to fail this little one."

"Fair enough," Aidie gently guided her forwards a few steps, "I don't blame you. But if you do need me to help, you only need to ask."

"Thank you," she winced as the words left her mouth, she had never said it to her before, so it seemed so abnormal.

In normal circumstances Aidie would have suppressed a smirk, but after everything they had gone through she was in no mood to gloat. Instead, she supported Sofie down the slope until the group reached the flat and the final part of their journey.

With the village nearly in sight, Emma almost forgot the need to travel in the group, pushing forward with a renewed need to be within safety. The others had to jog to keep up with her. Until the sound of shouts alerted them to the guards running towards them.

"Oh thank the Allfathers!" Emma cried out in joy as she waved frantically back at them.

They met the guards as they surrounded them in disbelief. They ushered them quickly towards the gates of the village.

"We can't believe you're still alive!" they exclaimed to Emma, "Burn's going to be so happy to see you."

They rushed to shut the gates, a mass of civilians and guards milling around the returned the women. Until Aidie felt herself strangely separated from them, she looked around wondering where the others were only to find herself staring back at a group of burly men she didn't recognise. Before she could even respond one threw the butt of his rifle at her head knocking her out cold.

* * *

Aidie was thrown towards Burn's knees as he sat watching her, his response heavily guarded. She hadn't seen the girls and the baby since they had been whisked away by the guards.

They were her proof that she was still a part of this community, that she had done everything in her power to protect the women of his village. And now as she gazed up at the Stranded leader, the sound of his people shouting at her in outrage, she felt very much like the filthy traitorous COG they accused her of being.

Eventually, after what seemed forever listening to her name getting dragged through the dirt, Burn cleared his throat and the room silenced in an instant.

"Where are my people?" he asked, quiet yet authoritative.

Aidie opened her mouth to speak, allowing a small squeak to emerge before letting out a cough and finally answering.

"Dead,"

There was no point sugar coating the story.

"And you dare return here without them?" he questioned, "What about your Sergeant, your squad, Archer, where are they?"

"Likely dead,"

"So why did you return here if all you bring me is news of death?"

"I came back to help protect your village, my Sergeant made an oath to you, and I still aim to honour that,"

"What makes you think that I'd even want you back,"

Aidie lifted her head and fixed him with her best steely-eyed stare, "aside from the fact that I returned your wife and granddaughter. I come with information regarding an imminent threat. I hope to assist you in taking them down."

"And what makes you think I even need you,"

"Because I know how desperate you are,"

"Insolent child," he roared rising from his seat and striding over to her. He lifted his arm and backhanded her across the face, the rings on his fingers slicing her cheek.

She lunged forwards at the force, hands placed on the floor to steady herself. She spat out blood, fighting every part of her tired body so she could just kneel back up again. She coughed, wiping her sleeve over her mouth as her face burned and straightened up.

"I'm no child," she responded, aware of the response it may encourage, "I am every part a soldier as my squad mates. My skills may differ from those of my Sergeant, but I am just as able. There's danger coming to this village, and I want to help protect it because my family live here too."

"You're just a girl. Girls have as much place protecting this village than I have producing children. I made this abundantly clear to your Sergeant."

"In my Sergeant's absence I will be acting on his behalf," she said, plucking up the courage to vocalise the secret she and Wilks had kept from Stranded Leader, "as his wife. Which I believe allows me as much control as he had."

Burn growled at her, "nonsense."

"My only proof is likely dead. Now you can either continue beating me until you feel like you're satisfied I've suffered enough, or we can approach this tactically and use me to protect your home,"

The room filled with shouts and jeers at her audacity to defy him. She stared back at him resolute in her decision to remain. Burn had never approved of her being a part of Wilks' team when they had first bargained for safety, but the Sergeant had been adamant that if she weren't a part of the team, they would keep walking.

A commotion from the back of the room alerted him to Emma's arrival. She gave him a worried look before rushing over to them.

"What are you doing Burn?" she asked concerned, positioning herself in front of Aidie.

"Negotiating my sweet wife," he answered, "now please you need to rest you've had a long journey. Leave this to the men."

"So you can do what? Beat a woman to death? Not again Burn,"

"Emma," Burn's harsh exterior cracked slightly at her strength.

"What's wrong with her Burn? She too much of a woman for you to comprehend? Do you not like the idea of a woman saving your family from monsters?" Emma took a step towards her husband, "what happened to us was beyond her control. What happened to Camille she couldn't stop. But those that she could protect she made sure she got us here regardless of what Locust or Lambent got in her way."

"Emma..."

"I'm also aware that you weren't overly forthcoming at sending a party out to find us. How is it then that the Gears you despise so much were the only ones willing to risk their lives. I didn't see you out there Burn," Emma flashed him a look he knew would stick in his mind for a long time to come. His wife gave him the strength to continue and he had been blind in grief to consider that she would ever return to him.

"As you seem to be the one making the decisions now wife, what do you suggest I do with her then?" Indicating to Aidie who had been watching the exchange carefully.

Emma turned to her and gave her a warm motherly smile, "she's a soldier, let her be a soldier. There's danger approaching, and none of us will be safe for long."

* * *

The advantage of looking Stranded gave Freja the opportunity to vanish into the shadows when the crowds of villagers descended upon the returned women. She was able to walk the alleys and streets in silence, marking out areas of importance in her head. As an unfamiliar face she opted to remain hidden, the less the village knew of her arrival, the more chance it gave her to sabotage their stronghold.

She made her way back to the main gate, following along the perimeter until she caught sight of a slight weakness in the wiring along the corrugated panel. She retrieved her knife to start cutting away at the hinges on one of the panels. She pushed on it to pry it away from its hold and open the only protection out to the wilderness.

For her next task, she unhooked an Imulsion lamp off a building, lit it and positioned it just outside the opening to alert her people of a way to enter unseen.

* * *

Sofie hesitated a moment outside the hospital room, unsure of what to expect the moment she opened the door. The ghosts of her past reminded her of the day Wilks had been in a similar position, a broken man. She wasn't going to allow this to break Tate.

The doctors had apprised her of his condition, preparing her for the worst. He was stable, but this was mostly due to a cocktail of drugs in his system. He was lucky to be alive. And he was never going to have any more children. The final revelation like a knife through her heart, she loved him no matter what, but she loved their children more.

She took a breath. She needed to be strong. He was the same man that pulled her out of a derelict building years ago. Cast out and damaged he took her in his arms and promised to protect her. He had remained her strength when she was weak, and now it was her turn to repay the favour.

The door creaked at her arrival causing her to flinch slightly. Each step she made sounded like thunder as she approached him.

He lay on the bed facing the window. His face angled towards the light with his eyes closed. Sofie could hear his breathing, a sound she had grown so used to over the years; it broke her heart to hear it so shallow and laboured.

"Tate?" her voice faltered slightly.

He hitched a breath before slowly turning his head towards her.

"Sofie?"

She fought back every part of her that wanted to be repulsed by him. Tate's eye had been bandaged up, and the other one remained swollen and bruised. A bandage over the side of his face reminded her of the moment the monster had first swung his blade, his blood had splattered her as she screamed in terror. She fought back the image and concentrated on the man in front of her as he reached out an arm, she noticed the missing digits and her soul wept for him.

She pushed herself toward him until she was at his side and flung herself over him. Placing her head against his chest just to hear the thump of his heart against her ear.

"Oh Tate," she whispered into his chest as tears flowed down her cheeks, "I never thought I was going to see you again."

He weakly wrapped his arms around her, holding her with as much strength as he could muster.

"My beautiful Sofie, they brought you back to me," his bandaged hand ran through her dark hair, something he never thought he would ever be able to do again, "I can't believe it's you."

She took a moment to steel herself, inhaling his distinctive smell mixed with the harshness of medical cleaning fluids. Her fingers grasped and played with the fabric of his hospital tunic. She remembered the time they had once lain together as they cradled their first born. Such happiness shared in such a brief moment. And now as they clung to each other they wept with joy and grief so deep that both thought they would never recover.

After a while, Tate gently placed his hands on her face guiding her towards him to examine further.

"Please tell me you weren't hurt, that you're okay," he asked.

She nodded, "I'm fine, the doctors checked me over and asides a few bruises I'm okay, we're okay."

He let out a sigh of relief, "you don't know how happy that makes me."

"We get one last chance to do it all over again,"

"Are you sure you even want me by your side after everything?" he said uncertainly, "I failed my beautiful family, and I'm in no fit state to protect you any further."

She leant over him and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, "there is no one else that I can think of by my side."


	18. Chapter 18 - Let it Burn

**Author's Note -** Apologies on the delay of this update, I have been busy getting my head around the ending of this beast. The good news is the ending has now been written, give or take a couple of rewrites. I have a few annoying fiddly bits needed to tie off any loose ends which may take a chapter or two, this in itself is taking its time as my brain has decided it doesn't like a writing a certain character. Anyway, we're looking at around twenty-five chapters to completion (not left) and I now know where we're going. Took me long enough.

Hope you're enjoying and brace yourself, it's about to get bumpy.

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen - Let it Burn**

* * *

The more Angelo was exposed to daylight the more he could feel his mind clouding over. The mercenaries, despite an original offer of friendship, had now withdrawn themselves from his horde. The Leader directly kept his men away from his increasingly unpredictable nature. If anything this made his confused stormy mind more uncertain of the people he had allied himself.

The only thing that kept him going was the thought of the one person who kept him human. He kept replaying through his head the different memories he and Lem once shared. Each night he closed his eyes to think of him, like the way he had been taught to keep anchored to his humanity. But the longer he buried himself amongst his fellow beings, the more he could feel the hate and venom suck him under. His dreams started to fill with vitriol until the face of the man he owed his life began to become a blurred image. The next night the memories began to vanish, and all he could remember were words once shouted in anger. And then he forgot to remember the kid who had rescued him from a Berserker, who had protected him all the way to Jacinto, who would have taken a bullet for him. Instead, all he felt was the evil his life had endured. Did he even know who he was anymore? He blankly stared as he felt the last of his humanity slip from him.

Split from his anchor his body started to embrace its inevitable shift as a new light emerged with him. A light of rebirth as he awoke a new breed of creature. Lambent.

The Formers began to huddle him, keeping him close as his body started to fight against the transformation. Each night as Angelo tossed and turned and howled and screamed his people held him close, protecting him when he was at his weakest. Until he gave himself over to the darkness and he emerged a creature anew. His bone structure warped and twisted, his skin stretched over his elongated frame. His face had changed, cheek bones snapped and reformed over one another, and his skin started to glow an iridescent hue.

The one speck of humanity that had kept Angelo safe from harm was now well and truly erased and replaced with the Former left in his place.

He unfurled himself out, gaining a measure of his new body. He felt reborn, refreshed. His tired old muscles no longer throbbing with fatigue. He sucked in a breath and for the first time in years relished the chance to fill his lungs with clean disease free air. It gave him a dizzying high he hadn't felt in a long time. He felt stronger and taller, ready to represent his people as one of them, no longer a sickening specimen.

The Formers stepped away from him, allowing the creature to emerge from their huddle, they nodded and cowered at his dominant form. A new strength within them. Angelo opened his mouth to let out a screech to assert himself, letting the ear-splitting sound carry on the wind.

* * *

The Leader sat beside Thaw watching the huddle of Formers like they had for every night of their journey. Cautious of their volatile alliance.

Angelo's transformation changed things.

They watched as he stalked out of the huddle, circling his monsters as if to assess them, nipping at the weaker ones.

"This isn't good," Thaw commented quietly.

The Leader let out a sigh, "it certainly makes things a little harder than I planned."

"Do you think we can still control it?"

"I won't know until I confront whatever the hell that is,"

"And in the meanwhile?"

The Leader fixed him with a stare, "protect our own."

* * *

Angelo woke from his slumber, tangled amongst his Formers in comfort, Luicie still beside him. A noise had alerted him. He looked up to see the Leader standing a small distance from him waiting. He unfurled himself from the Formers and stalked towards him, sizing himself up against him. For the first time in his life, he measured taller than the mercenary.

The Leader slipped his mask to the crown of his head to stare back at the Lambent form of the kid he had once known so well.

"Times have changed," he said thoughtfully, trying his best to steel himself in readiness for the unknown.

A rumble of a growl emerged from Angelo's throat.

"Do you still speak? Or have you completely forgotten everything Lem taught you?"

At Lem's name Angelo slightly twitched before he gained composure and bared his fangs at him. His Imulsion seared innards throbbed in response.

"Look I don't care about, this," he indicated Angelo's new form, "what I do care about is whether you are still willing to honour our deal. That's my endgame, take that village for ourselves. I don't care what form you take to do it. But let's get this straight if you hurt any of my people I will be the one coming for you."

Angelo took a few moments to process the words. The Leader wondered whether he was even capable of understanding anymore but as the Lambent human lowered his head to fix him with a point blank stare and grumbled a growling response, he realised he'd taken in everything he had said.

"So we're in agreement," he repeated just to reaffirm that Angelo understood completely, "you can destroy as many humans as you want the moment we get to that village."

As he turned to head back to his mercenaries, slipping his mask back over his face, he paused and turned momentarily back at the Lambent creature.

"Was this inevitable for you? Were you always going to end this way regardless of what Lem did to save you?" He asked quietly.

Angelo blinked, his insides glowed and pulsed in response to his beating heart. It was enough for the Leader to realise that all of Lem's efforts had been in vain. A surge of unwanted anger overcame him, after everything Lem had gone through to protect that poor kid he had still been unable to resist the temptation of darkness.

"I am sorry this happened to you kid, after everything we've been through, I never wanted it this way,"

Angelo's Lambent being tilted his head slightly in recognition then shuddered. A splatter of Imulsion flicked from the sweat glands on his skin, searing the ground like lava. The Leader took a step backwards cautiously before turning away and returning to his men.

Thaw waited for him, drawing him into the confines of his mercenaries who also awaited his response.

"And?"

The Leader took a breath before glancing back at the creature that had once been Angelo, now curling back on top of the pile of Formers.

"If it so much as looks at you wrong, kill it, because it's certainly not going to hold off taking you down,"

* * *

I need a weapon,"

Aidie turned, Longshot slung over her shoulder to find Sofie standing behind her, hands firmly wedged on her hips.

"You know that isn't going to happen," she responded as she dug through the ammunition rounds to load her pouch with relevant bullets.

"You can't leave me unarmed when this place is about to go to hell. Not when I have to protect Tate as well,"

Aidie picked up a pistol from Archer's prized collection, toying it between her hands as she considered her options. She realised that she hadn't been to see Tate since her return, although she had other pressing issues on her mind. Guilt nudged at her to respond.

"If I say no?"

"I'm still gonna find a way to get one," Sofie added, pushing her way to the collection of guns that all looked alien to her, "Either way, I'm getting a gun. With or without you."

"Do you even know how to fire it?"

"Point and shoot, surely there's a simple one I can use. I can't keep being this weak victim anymore. Tate needs someone strong now, and I need to be that person,"

Aidie had a lot of criticism for Sofie over the years, playing the victim to win the attention of her man. But over the past few days, she had seen a different side to her, a strong, dedicated woman, who would do anything to protect her own. No wonder Wilks had drawn to her.

"Looks like I don't have a choice," she said as she placed the weapon in Sofie's open palms, "you realise this gives you a role now."

"Meaning?"

"Get the civilians to safety, round them up in the hospital. Women, children, men incapable of fighting. Protect them, and I'll give you whatever you need to do so,"

"And what if there are those who want to fight alongside you,"

"You aren't going to be one of those people," Sofie let out a squeak of protest just as Aidie continued her reasoning, "you have more than one being to safeguard right now. After everything that's happened to you and your family, you need protecting. So please Sofie, stay at the hospital, get everyone to safety and defend yourself."

* * *

Aidie went through the group of Stranded willing to fight alongside her. She knew if Archer had been around the number would have been considerably higher. Now a handful of men were busy passing Hammerbursts and Lancers to one another. She noticed a significant lack of attendance from Burn. He had made his position clear. His village was important to him, but she was not the one to protect it.

Now she stood chewing on her gums nervously feeling very much like the young eighteen-year-old girl telling a group of seasoned Stranded what to do. She let out a nervous breath before clearing her throat. She had never led anyone to do anything, and here she was trying to convince these men that she knew what she was doing.

"Our best options are to position ourselves on higher vantage points. They'll be coming from the canyon, but we're also competing with the Lambent which can come from anywhere," she felt the wobble in her belly again, "I'll take the church tower as the highest point, and we can position ourselves around the perimeter. Archer had a small stack of flare guns. I suggest we all take one. Whoever hits contact first fire the flare, we can adjust accordingly."

She stopped herself from ending her sentence with a question. She had to look like she knew what she was doing. The men looked at each other as if deciding whether to override her idiotic orders, then fixed her with a nod of agreement. They each collected a flare gun from the weapon table and headed towards a position in readiness.

* * *

Burn had watched as his wife drifted off into a deep drug aided sleep, positioning herself on a mattress beside her Granddaughter's crib. He listened as her breathing drew heavily in and out as she drifted away from him. He sat in his large chair and watched her, his fingers drumming the arms of his seat as he thoughtfully pondered his strategy. Scratching his chin mid-thought he paused as a sound alerted him to his conference hall. He frowned, no one should be there now. Reluctantly he lifted himself to his feet and stomped wearily to the door. He drew the bolt back and entered the room, ensuring the door closed behind him in case he woke the baby.

"I swear to the Allfathers you better have a good reason for disturbing..."

He stopped at the sight of the woman who stood in the middle of the hall. Long legs that drifted forever upwards to her curvy hips and waist. Her mishmash of clothes hugged her curves in all the places he remembered, and her golden locks hung down her back in a ponytail in a way he recognised from years previously. Her face fixed in a grim state of concentration. She lifted her Torque Bow and aimed it at him.

"Edmynd Burn, well well well. I don't suppose you remember me after all this time?"

Burn hesitated a moment. It had been a long time since he had seen that beautiful pale complexion. Those innocent honey coloured eyes had aged a few years, but he knew exactly who stood in front of him.

"Freja?" He growled carefully, trying to work out a way to approach the situation.

She flinched at his voice, the nerve endings in her body spasmed in disgust. He could see the grip on her weapon weaken slightly.

"I never thought I'd see you again," he built up the courage at her faltering strength.

She let out a breath to steady her nerves, "I promised myself, if I ever did, it would only be for one reason."

"You've threatened me in the past Freja, and it's come to nothing," he took carefully calculated steps towards her, making his movements evident.

For a moment she allowed him to descend upon her, flashes of her childhood rooting her to the spot as he gripped a weighty hand around her arm. She could feel her muscles screaming out to her to respond, but her brain had completely frozen. Her terrified eyes fixed upon his, that same blue eye that haunted her. Here was the monster who had never forgotten the fear he instilled into people. The joy he took out of knowing the control he had. She had escaped him a long time ago, but that hadn't stopped him from terrorising other innocent girls. He had a family now, did he abuse them as he had her? The fear that he was continuing gave her enough strength to stand up to him.

"Don't you dare touch me," she smacked his arm away, feeling her skin burn from the memory of his touch.

He sent her a smirk, "you run out of places to flee that you come straight into my arms again."

"This was no accident," she lifted the Torque Bow up towards his chin to push him backwards, "you are never going to harm a single person ever again."

"You should never threaten anyone unless you mean to do something about it,"

She pulled the trigger on the Torque Bow, catching him on the shoulder and thrusting him backwards in shock.

"Fucking Bitch!" He roared, his uninjured hand clutched over the gaping hole in his shoulder.

"You never thought I could do it, did you?" She remained calm as she reloaded the barrel, "the little blonde girl who never said a word unless you demanded it. Seven years you controlled me because you thought I couldn't fight back. How many more were there Edmynd? How many girls?"

"Does it matter?" He winced as he tried to stagger to his feet, "what does it matter to you anyway?"

"Because I was your first and I certainly wasn't your last," she pulled the trigger again, it hit his kneecap, blowing the bone to shards.

He let out a scream as he crumpled back to his knees.

"You fucking…"

She folded the weapon and smacked him heavily over the head in response.

"How many?"

"I don't know. I don't know!" He screeched back as she loaded the Torque again, "I stopped counting."

"You bastard," she cursed, holding back the urge to weep for them all, "And your family did you hurt them like you hurt me."

"Emma…" He trailed off to grab at his knee In agony, "Emma never let me touch them. She never knew, but I always thought she suspected, she used to talk a lot to her brother about things."

Freja cast her eyes to the door to his home, the building that housed the monster for so long. She strode over to it and jiggled the handle, but it was locked. She headed to the shelving units by the door and started heaving them over to block the entrance.

"What are you doing?" Burn demanded, attempting to drag himself to stop her, "Don't you fucking touch my home."

"No Edmynd you lost that opportunity the moment you touched me," He could hear the waver in her voice again.

"Look we can talk about this, it isn't too late,"

She stopped to turn to him, "you took away my innocence, my youth, my compassion. Did you honestly think that I wouldn't come back at some point?"

"I assumed you were dead,"

Without a second thought, she unhooked her Torque, loaded the barrel and pulled the trigger. It planted firmly in Burn's chest, bleeped for a second before exploding.

"I promised I'd kill you if I ever saw you again," she muttered as she approached the body to assess it, "you can't say I never kept my promise."

She dragged his limp body towards the door of his house, slumping him against the handle. She hunted around for an Imulsion lamp, smashing the glass over his head and dousing him in the fuel. The stench made her nostrils quiver as she drew a match from her pocket, striking it against the matchbox until it ignited into life. She then set the light against Burn's body and stepped back to watch the flames edge their way up his body. She stood and watched as the fire engulfed him, his body sizzling and crackling in the heat and then started spreading to the rest of the building.

It was time to leave.

She was going to make sure his village burned with him.

* * *

The Leader took his cue from the flames inside the village.

"Well she always said she was going to burn the place to the ground," he commented quietly to Thaw.

"I never doubted her,"

He turned to his men, waiting on his every move. He approached each one, shaking their hands and checking their weapons.

"Men," he finally announced, "we have been coming to this moment for a long time."

Angelo strode over to him with his vast horde of Formers right behind him. The Nightmares could see the agitation and eagerness on the faces of each creature, the need to spill blood so overwhelming that they were relieved they were on their side.

The Leader unsheathed his blade and pointed at the Formers.

"Now is your moment to shine, go and take what's yours,"

Angelo let a howling screech as he and his Formers charged forwards, melting into the darkness around them in readiness.

* * *

Emma's drug filled body woke to the feeling of immense heat around her. Bleary-eyed she searched the room for her husband. Smoke filled the room, and the temperature seemed to be getting hotter and hotter.

"Burn?" She announced to the silence, "Burn are you here?"

The baby started fussing from her cot, kicking the bedsheets from her before alerting her Grandmother with a terrified screech. Emma reached in and plucked the child from her swaddling, nestling her in her arms. She gently hushed her as she padded towards the door in search of her husband.

Something made her stop before touching the door. Heat seemed to emanate from the walls around it, and smoke started to seep from under her only exit.

"Oh no," she gasped, stepping back deeper into the room as the walls started glowing red and flames licked under the doorframe.

She headed towards the window. She bashed on it with one hand and shouted out to anyone who would listen.

"Help!" She screamed, catching sight of someone outside who stopped at her calls.

The baby now had picked up on her fear and started wailing herself. Emma glanced back at the flames which had begun to edge it's way further into the room. She placed the baby down in her cot so she could attempt to smash the window. She picked up a bat from the table and charged at her only means of escape slamming hard into the pane over and over again until the glass formed a spidery web across it.

"C'mon!" She cried in frustration, "break."

One last impact caused the glass to shatter outwards. The draft of oxygen sucked into the room fed the fire further, bursting upwards angrily to the ceiling. Emma looked up at her sky of fire surrounding her and rushed down to pick up the baby. Her world was sucked deeper into the flames.

"Here!" She called to the person waiting to help on the outside, bundling the baby towards her, "take her please!"

The fire spread faster than she realised and before she could even attempt to shuffle herself to the window, she could feel the flames lick at her legs. The heat was overpowering as she tried to beat the flames back to establish her escape. But the flames kept coming, biting and singing her body, enticing her back into their depths. She started screaming as the heat engulfed her. Her screams pitched a higher level as they scorched her deeper and deeper until she was nothing but a flame surrounded shadow.

* * *

Aidie could hear screaming and shouting from below her. She wasn't entirely certain of the ins and outs of their panic, but one thing hit home. Burn's house was on fire, and the flames were spreading quickly along the adjacent structures. His men immediately left their positions beside her to assist in extinguishing the fire, leaving her as one of the few left standing to protect the village.

She didn't even know how many men she had left along the boundary, was she the only one now?

Trying not to panic, she lifted the sights on her Longshot to assess how many people remained to help defend the village. She counted a couple along the far side, men who were possibly unaware of the tragedy unfolding behind them at their leader's home.

Her vision then caught sight of something rippling in the darkness towards them, like a flicker of the sun, a river of Imulsion. A sea of Formers surging towards them with a momentum that cleared the gates of the village as it had never been there.

All of a sudden each of the flares went off at once as each section of the perimeter was overrun with the never ending flow of monsters. The rattle of gunfire sounded around her as the screech of Formers filled the air, engulfing the life around them.

She had no idea how to stop the creatures, relying on her adrenalin to keep going for fear of curling into a ball and submit to the darkness. She raised the Longshot, aligning her eye with the sight, picking out her first target and pulling the trigger. The Former was fast, but she managed to catch it where it mattered, it exploded into the air a splatter of Imulsion and seared human bits. As she searched the sea of glowing creatures for her next target, she caught sight of something that made her launch backwards in horror. In denial, she drew the sights up again to ensure her vision was correct.

She watched as Angelo's Former sprinted through the streets, catching hold of his target and tearing it apart. Blood splattered everywhere as he ripped his victim's head right off his body and he flung it to one side as if it was a rag doll.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Night the Village Fell

**Author's Note -** Well folks we've reached a few crucial coming episodes. The good news, I have finished writing this tale and you should consistently get updates until the end. So no long hiatus. Promise. Bad news, we're going to lose people. Sorry not sorry folks, what can I say, I've written this story with different endings and only one complements the characters in the way befitting to them. So buckle up and hold on tight.

On another note, I have in my possession a fantastic image of Aidie and Wilks from the first chapter drawn by MyFantasiWorld. Will have to sort out changing the story title image so you guys can see it in all its wondrous glory.

Anyway, back to chapter nineteen... read, enjoy, and (ehem) review... Never been very good at subtle.

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen – The Night the Village Fell**

* * *

Burning, the village was burning. A light emanated from the buildings as smoke wafted into the night sky. The sound of screaming echoed through the air as the sea of Formers slaughtered their way through the villagers. The Nightmares paced ominously behind them slicing down anyone that escaped the wrath of the Lambent. It was a sight that would stick with Ollyvar Wilks until the day he died. The feeling of helplessness squeezed at his insides as panic rose inside him despite everything he did to maintain his composure.

Every single man, standing outside the destroyed gateway of the village, felt the same way.

"We're too late," the sound of disappointment in Archer's voice apparent as he felt his knees give way under him. Miles caught him before he dropped, supporting him on his uninjured side until he was able to stand again.

"Don't give up yet," he told him.

"Look at it Miles, my home is on fire," he gasped, steadying himself eventually.

The sound of gunfire rattled somewhere within the village, echoing along the streets. The villagers had refused to sit back and let these creatures take them down.

"You hear that Archer?" Wilks commented, "that means all's not lost that there is a reason to keep fighting."

It was this feeling of hope that kept Wilks going, despite how much the darkness wanted to suck him deeper. Even though the world was falling apart, humanity still fought for their survival. Who was he to give in if those he loved kept the fight going.

"I'm hoping you have a plan," Archer asked, straightening himself up and readying his weapon.

"Best to split up, assess the situation of the village before we launch ourselves in head first."

"I need to get to Angelo," Lem interjected quickly.

"Okay, Archer knows this village better than anyone, go with him let him take you where you need to go, work on getting that cure. Cam, I need you to establish if there any survivors and whether they've set up somewhere safe. Miles, with me. We'll clear our way to the harbour, meet in the middle and establish a point to defend from there. Are we all in agreement?"

"And these?" Lem offered his chained wrists to him, "I'm not going to be much use handcuffed."

Wilks indicated and motioned for him to lift his wrists up as he revved up the chainsaw to hack through it. Lem braced himself as sparks of metal spat out in response until he felt his arms ping free.

"Yer could have used the key," Cam commented from behind him.

"I left the key back with Professor Freaky at a temptingly out of reach position," Wilks responded with a smirk.

"He'll die out there," Lem replied with a sharpness in his voice for the first time.

"Well it's the least he deserves considering the pain and suffering he caused to all those people,"

"He didn't work alone. I am just as responsible,"

"And you're trying to make amends, do you want the cuffs off or what?" Wilks shot him a look.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I can't help thinking that two wrongs don't make a right," Lem dropped his arms to his side, the severed chains clinking against his palms.

Wilks abruptly turned from him, doubling up as he vomited, another surge of Lambency reminding him again that they had control of his fate. He wiped the back of his hand over his mouth before righting himself.

"Remind me again why I am showing you any mercy," he grunted and nodded to Archer, "take him before I start regretting my decisions."

Archer gripped a hand around Lem's arm and tugged him away. Cam carefully followed, restocking the chamber of the pistol and casting a glance to Miles, who nodded to him in acknowledgement.

"See ya in hell bud," Miles responded with a wink.

"I'll be pouring the wine," Cam answered back as he jogged away from him towards the village.

Wilks glanced at Miles as they watched their squad disperse into the screams.

"Dare I ask?"

"Best not," Miles smirked unhooking his Snub from his waist and checking the bullets.

"We gonna talk about the look Cam gave you? He giving you nannying tips?"

"Because he trusts me to say the right things, hah, you know me better than that. All about honesty, me,"

"You're aware that Cam basically raised me, Miles. I know the kind of person he is, the tactics he takes to ensure you keep going. I've seen it all."

"So you're talking about..."

"Aidie," Wilks knelt on one knee to take his time reloading the magazine to his Lancer, clicking it back in firmly in place, "you think she's dead?"

"I dunno," Miles took the lead heading down the side streets, "you knew her better than any of us here, you knew her capabilities. But then at the same time, I think you're prone to over protecting something that doesn't need it."

"So you're saying it's my fault,"

Wilks stopped the conversation a moment to silence them, drawing himself to the walls of a building and peering around the corner. He turned back to Miles indicating the number three on his fingers. Miles silently nodded, unhooking a smoke grenade from his belt, stepping forward and rolling it down the street. He was starting to get used to one handed warfare. They pulled themselves back behind cover as the grenade beeped and burst forth a vast cloud of smoke. Wilks took his cue, surging forward and blasting Lancer fire at the Formers as they blindly charged towards him. Miles picked them off as they staggered past him.

"It's true I can mollycoddle," Wilks commented, after clearing the street, "when Tate was a recruit I used to protect him terribly. To the point that they nearly kicked him from cadet camp because they didn't think he was capable of coping in battle."

"Haven't learned yet then,"

"But she's different,"

"That's what they all say," Miles shook his head, "I met her for the first time just like you. This wild blonde scrap of a thing, kicking and screaming blue murder as she was slung over Cam's frigging shoulder. I saw the strength and defiance she had back then. Didn't realise that was your thing."

"Neither did I," he sighed, "maybe it's because of everything she's gone through I felt she deserved the best chance at life. I dunno."

"You know Cam thought you were going to blow your brains out," Miles hastily changed the subject as he took the lead down the next street.

"Love that he had that much faith in me," Wilks grumbled as he whirled round another corner to come face to face with a villager and her two small children. She screamed at the shock, reeling backwards against a wall. Wilks lowered his weapons to her, responding in a quieter tone, "it's okay, we're on your side."

She gave him a panicked look as she recognised the two Gears, "the village is burning, there are monsters everywhere. Please help."

"Where are the survivors taking cover?"

"The infirmary, I went to get my children but was cut off from the group,"

"Okay, come with us, we'll get you there,"

"And the plan?" Miles softly reminded, "I could take them."

"It's only a slight diversion,"

Wilks took point with the young villager and her children wedged between them. He slowed the pace to scout the route, uncomfortable with the slight vibrations under his feet. He stopped abruptly to cast a glance at Miles, who shared the same worried look. Before either could say anything, the ground erupted in front of them, and a huge Stalk burst through the street, spewing a mass of Polyps onto it. The woman tried to scream just as Wilks lunged backwards, hoisting the eldest child into his arms and grabbing his mother's wrist.

"C'mon run!" He ordered as they sprinted through the mass of scuttling legs. He felt her feet trip as she blindly stumbled through the destruction, weeping uncontrollably into her youngest child's shoulder.

Miles held back to unhook one of his grenades from his belt, lighting the wick and rolling it into the shimmering mass of Polyps. He turned to sprint away before the detonation blew him staggering forwards. He caught up with Wilks, twisting to fire at the incoming Polyps with his Snub. Wilks stood beside him with his Lancer, letting off shots with a child clung to his chest like a baby monkey. The woman opened her eyes long enough to gain an idea of their location, pointing in the direction of the infirmary.

"This way!" She cried out, making an attempt to rush forward.

"Wait!" Miles yelled, grabbing her wrist and hoisting her backwards as a Former appeared from the darkness and charged towards them.

She screamed, cowering behind him until the creature stumbled into a puff of ash around Miles' feet.

"You okay?" Wilks asked as he planted the child back down to his feet beside his mother.

"Please," she wept, "please get us to safety."

"We're nearly there," he rose to stand as a sudden faintness overcome him, Miles was at his side before he'd even realised he'd started looking woozy.

"You alright?" He asked him quietly, "you've gone white."

Wilks took a moment to swallow back the bile in his throat, "I'll be okay."

The woman watched him in concern, too worried for her life to consider what was going on with him.

"Take it easy now, Ol, I don't want you going full blown Glowie before we have a chance to get you back from this,"

Their next step was a cautious one. The woman kept close as they skirted around streets where the Nightmares lurked until they caught sight of the infirmary. This time she didn't rush ahead, she waited until Miles and Wilks had cleared the area until they made it to the front doors. She banged on the entrance in desperation, crying out to the occupants until the sound of the lock silenced her. The door opened, and the woman bundled her children to safety. Wilks let out a gasp. Sofie gave him a coy smile as she registered his appearance.

"Sofie, you're here?" Wilks couldn't believe what his eyes were allowing him to see.

"You certainly know how to pick them Ollyvar," she commented softly.

"How did you… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm a tough cookie,"

"How many civvies are with you?"

"I think I have most of them, I lost track of a lot when the Polyps came," she responded as confident as she could muster, but he couldn't help notice a wobble in her voice. "There's something else Olly. I couldn't get to the boys in time. The Formers cut us off,"

"Where did you last see them?"

"Back at the school where the kids gathered for safety, most got out, the boys were left behind,"

Wilks nodded, processing this information, "And Tate, is he okay?"

"Let me worry about Tate," she sent him a thoughtful glance before edging the door shut, "you get the boys."

At the sound of the lock, Wilks gave Miles a look of relief, "Sofie's safe."

"Which means..."

In the moment it took for their guard to drop a Nightmare charged towards them, pitching his blade back in readiness. Wilks lifted his Lancer to protect himself as the Cleaver swung towards his neck. In the same breath, a shot sounded. The attacker lurched forward, as a bullet cracked his skull and seared through his brain. Wilks stood astonished as the Nightmare stumbled to a heap at his feet. Alarm bells rang in his head as he looked up to the roof overlooking the infirmary, his eyes beheld the woman he never thought he would see again.

"Could you talk a little louder, I don't think the whole of Sera's heard you yet," Aidie called down to them before dropping to a crouch, twisting swiftly and firing again at another unseen enemy from beyond their vision.

"If you weren't already flipping married to the girl I would have dropped to my knees and proposed to her there and then," Miles commented with a smirk, "you trained her well."

"Believe it or not, this was all her," Wilks marvelled, "plus everyone knows you enjoy spooning Cam at night."

Miles chuckled to himself, "In those bunks, I wouldn't be surprised if he braced himself every time I breathed."

Wilks approached the building Aidie had stationed herself, calling up to her.

"Aidie, how's it looking up there?"

"Bloody hot," she responded as she concentrated on reloading the Longshot, "the place is going to hell rather quickly Wilks. We've lost Burn, and I'm finding it hard to keep the men fighting without him. They're struggling to keep the fires confined, and the Polyps aren't helping matters."

"The boys were cut off Aide,"

She slowly lowered the weapon and turned to look at him, "the school's overrun Wilks. There's no way anything is getting out of there alive."

"Guide me there Aide, be my eyes,"

She nodded as she rose to a stand and picked her way across the roof to assess the route, Miles turned to his Sergeant.

"What are you doing?"

"We have to get those kids,"

"Yes I understand that, but what happened to the plan, clear down to the harbour? We could spend the entire night diverting to different tasks to save every person and end up losing the village."

"Look at it, the second we've cleared one street a Stalk erupts behind us. We're failing Miles. At what point do we stop and consider our options. When do we get the chance to get out alive?"

"I never considered it as an option Ol. This is our home, not the next place on the map before we uproot again,"

"So you want to fight for this? For these people?"

"Well, now I know that's the Lambency talking because the Olly I know wouldn't have considered any other option. For the chance for your family to have a home to grow up in, it's a no-brainer,"

Like a thud in Wilks' stomach, the word family hit him hard. The chance of a tomorrow. Then the sick feeling inside reminded him that he wasn't entitled to a future anymore. Not unless Lem got to Angelo in time and made him see sense to relinquish the cure. His future rested solely in the hands of Aidie, and he would do anything to ensure her protection.

"Aidie," he called up again, the sound of her footsteps on the roof thundered towards him until she appeared into view, "lead Miles. Get the boys to safety."

"And you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm going to be the idiot you know me to be,"

"Olly," her voice was quiet as she dropped to the roof and swung her legs over the ledge to look directly at him. She looked tired. Blood splattered her clothes, and he had no clue how much of it was her own. Her blonde curls spilled from their ties, a swirl of ringlets and waves now caked in the filth of warfare, "come back to me, okay."

He sent her a reluctant smile, "I can't make any promises."

"I mean it Ollyvar, remember the last time you tried to play idiot hero on me?"

"Well someone has to," he commented as he turned to walk away down the street.

She cursed to herself as she edged down from the roof, landing lightly on her feet and sprinted to him. She grabbed him by the arm to stop him, turning him to her.

"We're a team Wilks, don't take that responsibility upon yourself, not anymore,"

He hovered a hand over her momentarily, as if working out whether she was a figment of his imagination. After everything he had been through, getting his head around losing her and now here she was standing in front of him. His dark eyes darted over her, assessing her injuries. His brows furrowed as he fixed on the slash across her cheek from Burn's earlier strike. His thumb stroked across the stickiness, causing her to flinch at his touch. Both her hands clasped around his to pull it away.

"Easy there," she warned, "that one still smarts."

"What happened?"

"Call it working on my negotiation skills,"

"You need it dressed Aide that'll get infected,"

"Bah, I'll live," she brushed him off.

At her words he gave her a look that she didn't entirely understand, his dark eyes seemed on the verge of filling with tears. He swallowed as he awkwardly took her in and let out a heavy breath. She frowned at him. She could see him holding back from taking her in his arms.

"What the hell's going on?" she asked.

"You were dead Aidie," Miles responded, "they told us the women had slaughtered you. We saw their bodies, a lot of them,"

She suddenly understood now, the monsters she'd fled to protect the others had caused her to forget her role in the squad. She had assumed they had seen her escape. Instincts had told her to get the survivors back to the village. She realised now that she was wrong.

"Oh god, I'm sorry, I didn't realise. I saw the stalks and thought we needed to get to the village before the Lambent destroyed it."

Wilks turned from her for a moment. He clutched a hand to his head as an agonising seizure of pain jarred its way through his brain. His head throbbed, and his vision started spinning. He fought his hardest to hide it from her.

"You did the right thing," he struggled a response as normal as possible, "you thought about the practical implications, which is what I taught you. I just keep underestimating you. They told us you were dead and I unwittingly believed them."

"I had a few close calls," she commented, "but you know me, I'm a fighter."

She watched his body language, realising something was amiss. He took an immediate, almost drunken step away from them, staggering towards a building and lurching himself inside. She gave Miles a panicked look as she followed after him.

"Wilks? What's going on?"

He blinked back the pain, and as he did so, he felt his skull explode. His knees buckled from under him as he clutched at his head. His vision filled with a blinding white light. He let out a cry as his world spun under him and he was surrounded by darkness.

Aidie responded quickly to a situation she was unsure of, rushing forwards to catch him before his head had the chance to smash hard against a table. The momentum of his fall pulled her down with him. She grunted as she righted them both, propping Wilks carefully up against a wall.

"What the hell happened?" she asked Miles, who came to her side, gently tapping his cheeks to bring him round.

"He was injected with the Lambent Parasite,"

"What!" her brain filled with the images of the creatures outside, "you know that stuff turns you Lambent right? I've seen it with my own bloody eyes."

"That kid, Lem and the weird scientist ambushed him, thought it would give him the incentive to help them find the cure,"

"How is he not Lambent yet?"

"Because we've fought like mad to keep him hanging on,"

In an unexpected reflexive moment, he lashed out, his hands swung aggressively in her direction. She swerved to avoid his blows. She heard him wheeze a rapid set of hyperventilating breaths as a panicked whimper escaped his mouth.

"Miles, I can't see,"

Aidie caught Wilks' hands and eased them down to his lap, gently shushing him. She then placed one hand across his eyes, encouraging him to close them. Her other palm pressed against his chest to slow his panicked breathing. Miles watched as she leant close to her Sergeant and slowly counted out breaths for him, forcing him to shudder back the built up fear that had been rising inside him. Eventually, she eased her hands away, and his eyes remained shut, his breathing had calmed. He frowned at her in amusement, to which she shrugged a response.

"One of the tricks Cam taught me to help him cope with Wilks' nightmares, I figured this worked the same way," she brought the subject back to the more pressing, "so you say there's a cure. Where is it?"

"On a vial around Angelo's neck,"

She let out a semi-delirious laugh, "please tell me this is all an elaborate joke. That you and Wilks devised it one drunken night."

"I wish, why?"

"Angelo is a full blown Former now, saw it with my own eyes. He led the attack, ripped half the villagers apart with his bare hands. I don't know how you're ever going to get anything willingly from him again."

Wilks blindly lifted a shaking hand out and placed it on Aidie's arm as if to reassure her.

"If the Lambency doesn't get to his brain before we get that cure to him we stand a chance of saving him," Miles told her, "it hasn't been easy, we've barely kept him together."

"Can we slow it down?"

"We took Lem hostage to help monitor him. He's held it back well, but without an anchor, it's a losing battle, and it's getting rapidly worse."

She sat on her haunches to examine him, pressing her fingers along his wrist to measure his thundering pulse. Her palm on his forehead took note of his blistering temperature.

"He's burning up," she muttered, "he needs to get to the infirmary at this rate."

Wilks quickly grabbed her wrist from his head, "the hospital can't help me. I'm better off out here fighting to my last breath."

He made a conscious effort to open his eyes. Finding his blurred vision adjust to the darkness around him and the outline of Aidie sitting beside him with a worried look on her face. He lifted his hand to cover each eye to work out which one had failed him. He rubbed the one on the scarred side of his face.

"Should have known that would have been the first to go,"

She darted her finger backwards and forwards for him to follow, "there's still some movement, so you haven't lost vision completely. I'd suggest covering it to protect whatever vision you have left."

He half laughed at her as she wrestled with his pouch to pull out the roll of dressing, remembering the old days when she had last attempted to patch him up. Despite how futile he thought it was he didn't resist her, allowing her to pad around his eye and wrap it around his head. He relished her touch as her fingers worked their way through his hair, stroking against his skin as she attached the bandage to him.

"Do you still wear your ring?" she asked him casually as she finished.

He swallowed, one hand peeling back his fingerless gloves to reveal his bloodied wedding ring. She laced her hands through his and clutched her fingers around him. She let out a heavy breath to steady herself and fixed him with a look. Her words a gentle purr reflecting the honesty and affection she reserved only for him.

"The day I first met you I had no clue of the effect you were going to have on my life, this crazy overconfident idiot who was so broken that he didn't know how to process loss. Out of everyone from my home, you, this stranger offered a hand of protection to me. You taught me how to defend myself. You made me embrace the inevitable change that was coming my way. You gave me a chance to be more than just a breeding machine, to be a competent soldier you would deem worthy of fighting alongside you. The day you came back for me at Jacinto just as I had given up hope, ready to accept my fate, I decided there and then there was never going to be anyone except you. Despite how much you tried to keep pushing me back, reasserting yourself as my Sergeant for the sake of my training. And then this..."

Her small fingers felt their way around the ring on his finger, with his other hand he retrieved her COG tags from around his neck. He slipped them over his head and placed them in her palm. She played the gears between her fingers before finding her wedding ring, a small metal band that had been melted down to fit her. He clasped his hands around her own.

"Even then you did what you did to protect me, to save me once again from the monsters. I know you keep trying to convince yourself that you forced me into taking your hand, but I made a choice too. That cold frosty morning when you and I stood in that derelict church, freezing our asses off in front of the minister reciting those vows to one another, I meant every word of it. I never saw it as anything else. I spent a long time wondering whether I was worthy of our union, a scrappy wild girl who had spent half her life locked away from society. I gave myself to you as a promise of my intention to keep my word to become someone you would be proud of. Maybe that's why I've had such a hard time getting my head around this situation between us. You've always made your feelings clear to me from the moment we met. And I… I have spent way too long trying to deny them for us to function efficiently." She paused to let out a heavy breath as if summoning the courage needed to continue.

"For fear of sounding like a pathetic teenager, I apologise. But I'm not sorry for how I feel. I have wanted you for as long as you've wanted me. I suppose that's why it's taken so long for me to process what happened that day between us. I was in this weird situation where I had no clue where we went from there. What did I mean to you? Were you my Sergeant or lover? I knew I had strong feelings for you, even after everything that happened to Tate. Then that night you came to me, I realised then that I didn't care because, after everything we had been through, you would always be by my side no matter what. We made each other stronger."

Even though his world spun and his head throbbed, he felt the pain inside him start to subside. He reached out to her, gently running his fingers across her cheek and through her knotted curls to ease her to him. She didn't need any further encouragement as she leant forward and kissed his lips with her own, the heat from his body drawing her closer to him making her want to curl up beside him forever. She fought all her control to pull away, leaning her forehead against him.

"Olly I need you to fight this. I know you just want to give into the Lambency inside you right now. But you're stronger than this. We're going to get this cure, and you're going to beat this because you deserve another tomorrow,"

She rose to her feet, half turning away from him to hide the tears that defied her strength. Miles caught a look at her distraught expression that confirmed his worst fears. She sniffed back her momentary lapse in control and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears.

"Aidan," Wilks quietly called to her causing her to turn back to him, "I know."

She paused a moment, understanding the implications. One hand twitched protectively towards her stomach.

"How?"

"Back at that church," he huskily responded, "the flower. I meant to ask you back then, but it never seemed the right time. Then Cam confirmed my suspicions."

She glanced back at Miles who nodded in agreement.

"At the church?" She stuttered a breath, "If I had told you then, what would you have done?"

She turned to him and fixed him with a look he instantly understood, as the realisation dawned on him.

"Despite me wanting to send you back for your protection, I know you would never have left my side regardless,"

She thoughtfully nodded as she slowly made her way to the door, "sometimes you're going to have to trust that I'm going to do the right thing."

"What do you mean?" he asked, "where are you going?"

"I'm going to get the boys back,"

"No," Wilks grunted in a failed attempt to find his feet, "not alone. I won't let you go alone. It's too dangerous."

"Wilks you aren't going anywhere until you can stand. Miles can stay until you feel strong enough. Please don't write me off, I'll get the boys to safety. You have to trust me, I've gotten this far alone,"

Before Wilks could even respond she was out of the door and into the burning darkness outside.


	20. Chapter 20 - In The Name of Duty

**Author's Note** \- Sooo I spoke too soon about the hiatus. Well, December happened kind of quickly, and annoyingly I kind of spent it being ill. Typical. So here is chapter twenty, more of a building chapter but the next few chapters are all deliciously brutal and heartbreaking.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty – In Th** **e Name of Duty**

* * *

Lem followed closely beside Archer and Cam, two very different individuals from diverse backgrounds united to protect their home. Not that there was much of it left to save.

A support beam from a nearby structure creaked as it collapsed in the heat of the fire, sending the hut to the ground in a mound of expensive kindling.

The two older men dodged the collapse easily, aware of their surroundings as they responded quickly to anything that came their way. Lem counted himself lucky that the two were so experienced at handling such situations, he doubted he would have fared so well himself. They didn't talk much compared to when Wilks ran the squad, but then Lem wondered whether it was necessary. Cam was short but quick on his feet, and Archer had brute strength on his side. Plus he knew the village from memory, so navigating around blockades and stalks were simple. The biggest issue was ammunition.

"We're going to blow our way through our ammo before we even get to my cache, too many things between us," Archer grunted as he assessed the bullets in his Boltok.

Lem heard a screech behind him as a Former caught sight of them. It gave him an aggressive look like it remembered every needle he had injected into it, all the pain he had inflicted, then charged towards him. Lem staggered backwards letting out a long yell of attempted disguised fear, lifting the Gorgon and pulling the trigger. Bullets hit the creature as it kept charging until it collapsed onto him in a mound of ash. He let out a disgusted snort as he brushed off Former ash from his clothes, glancing back at Cam and Archer who had just watched him from a safe distance.

"Thanks for the help," Lem commented sharply.

"Just checking to see whether yer capable of holding your own," Cam responded exchanging a glance with Archer.

"Just remember without me you won't get any cure to your precious Wilks,"

"And if you attempt to hold Wilks' life hostage again I don't care how he gets the treatment, I'll be firing the bullet through your friend's head to get it," Cam held Lem's expression a lot longer than Lem was able to sustain. He had to keep reminding himself, these people were not his friends, they were a means to an end.

"An assist would have been appreciated,"

A distinctive growl emerged from Archer's throat as he aimed and fired at something behind Lem. Lem twisted to take in the slumped Former on the floor

"I don't owe you anything," he responded stomping away, "after everything you did to our people, I'd happily leave you for dead. The people sympathetic to your cause aren't with you now."

As they edged their way further through the village, they came to discover that their rapidly diminishing ammunition had forced them to alter their tactics and adapt an avoidance approach. By the time they reached the infirmary, news of Archer's return had seeped through the population of the village. They embraced him into the safety of the building so they could rebuild up their confidence.

Cam assessed the injured, making sure to check on Tate. He acknowledged Sofie, standing protectively by the door with a gun in hand, and shook his head. She gave him a look as she turned her back on him and returned to door watching.

"Arch!" a woman called from somewhere within the crowd, muscling herself through the villagers to make her way to Archer.

"Marta?" Archer was stunned at her appearance as if the sudden magnitude of the destruction around him had finally hit home, "where are your sisters?"

"They're safe, but those creatures attacked Marya, we were lucky to get here with minimal injuries," she flung her arms around him, "We thought you were dead. Don't ever do that to us again."

Marta's sister sidled up behind her with a small baby in her arms, causing Archer to release one sister and take in the other.

"There's something else," Marta announced worriedly, "Burn's gone, no one can find him. The fire started from his house. We just about managed to get their Granddaughter out, but the flames were too strong, I'm afraid we couldn't get Emma out in time."

Archer exhaled sharply at the thought of losing his family in one sentence. He'd seen the state his poor Niece had ended in and now his sister. His eyes flicked to the small child cradled in Melinie's arms, then at the people cowering around him. Cam had busied himself helping to bandage some of the worst injured. A groan sounded behind him, and he turned to see one of Burn's bodyguards, his slumped body was burnt severely with a tag stating 'do not treat' around his neck. He dropped to his knees beside him and took his hand.

"I'm sorry," the scorched human barely managed, "I failed him."

"It's okay. You fought bravely,"

"The girl, the COG, she asked us to help her, she wanted us to protect the village, but we were cowards. We chose to protect Burn instead, and we failed."

Archer was unsure of the best thing to say. His people had failed their village because they had refused put petty rivalries aside to help a Gear. They had made the wrong choice, and they were paying for it now.

"We should have listened to you," he leant forward and coughed, bringing up globs of blood into his hand.

"I'm back now, don't you worry," he told him, "we're going to fight for this village no matter what."

"What if it's too late?" the man sitting beside him asked.

"It's never too late," Archer rose to his feet, making an instant decision. In Burn's absence, his people needed reassurance that they could survive it.

He made his way towards Cam, who was elbow deep in dressings, second nature kicking in.

"I'm going back out, I need to find a way to beat those bastards, my men are still out there. Surely if they see me with a weapon in hand, they'll come join me,"

Cam thoughtfully nodded a moment as he secured the end of a dressing strip.

"I'll come with you, remember the plan, Wilks wants us to meet in the harbour,"

"Surely you're better needed here?" Archer asked.

"As a doctor, my priorities stand with my patients. As a Gear my loyalties will always lie with my family," he looked over at Sofie who was busy ushering in an injured woman, "plus I think they have it sorted here."

Archer cast his eyes over the villagers in search of Lem, "that rat bastard. He's gone and ditched us."

"Probably for the best," Cam grunted as he wiped his hands, "he knows what he has to do. We'd do him no favours."

* * *

Wilks let out a grunt as he attempted to stand, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Miles asked reaching out his arm in case he needed to catch him.

"I can't frigging sit here and play the patient, Miles. Not when the place is burning down, and people are dying to protect it. What kind of Gear could I call myself if I sat back and dwelled on my mortality."

He clicked the magazine from the Lancer and slotted a handful of bullets into it, then slid it back into his weapon carefully. Miles could see that Wilks was rapidly losing the battle within him, his features had started to look drawn and tired, as if every move he made was a struggle. The lambency had advanced further than expected. The guy was determined, but even the strongest person had a breaking point.

"Ol," Miles said carefully, causing his Sergeant to turn to him, "I'll look after her, you know that."

Wilks held a hand up to assess the tremor, the reality of his condition hitting home. He nodded eventually.

"I appreciate it, Miles,"

"I'd rather be the cool uncle, but if it comes to it I'll make sure she doesn't do it alone,"

"Before you start writing out my headstone," Wilks indicated the door, "I'm leaving now, are you coming with me?"

"Like you needed to ask," He held his Snub up, "with this monstrosity I'll always have your back."

They opened the door out into the darkness, ready to greet the monsters with everything they could muster.

* * *

Aidie made a running leap over from one building to the next, carefully working her way towards her target. Her brain working overtime to come up with a strategy to get in and out of the schoolrooms unscathed. She threw herself into a roll as she unsteadily landed on the roof of the next building, bashing her elbow. Wincing as she clutched at her already injured arm, she sucked back a yelp of pain. As she waited for the throbbing to subside she took a moment to assess her location. Her movement had to be as stealthy as possible to prevent the Formers from spotting her. So she carefully and silently picked her way through the village, using the rooftops as her guide.

The distinctive sound of raspy breathing below forced her to her hands and knees. She paused a moment as her rapid breath nervously echoed off the metal panelling at her feet. The Formers stalked dangerously close as they caught the enticing scent of a human. She lowered herself further, flattening herself completely to the roof with one hand held ready on her weapon. She waited, heart thundering loudly in her ears until the creatures eventually moved away from her position.

She let out a nervous sigh, hoisted herself to her feet and peered over the ledge to chance a glance at the darkness below her. The schoolrooms were within sight which meant the Formers were somewhere below, waiting. She trod carefully now, squinting at the movement further down the streets, a Nightmare swung his weapon at a captured civilian. Their head parted from their body at the impact. She lifted and fired her Longshot in the hope of catching the attacker, but the bullet ricochetted off the wall. He twisted in response and caught sight of her.

"You!" he bellowed. She recognised his distinctive voice as Chrysto, the one Nightmare with a particular vendetta against her.

He charged towards her, howling as he swung his huge weapon, thrusting it heavily into the wall of the structure. She felt herself topple, as he kept hammering into the building, reaching to scrabble for something to catch herself, just as her hand caught and slipped through a nail. She let out a shriek as it slashed down her arm, blood already seeping around the wound before she even hit the ground. The only thing that went through her mind, as she careened towards the arms of the awaiting Nightmare, was to protect the life of the one thing that mattered. She lifted her Longshot, aware that she didn't stand a chance in hitting him, but a distraction was all she needed. She fired at his feet, forcing him to lunge out of the way. As she reached the ground, she staggered quickly to her feet to avoid him swinging an enormous hammer-like instrument embedded with rusted nails. The Nightmare rushed towards her, knocking her hard to the ground and leaving her winded, heaving for breath.

"Bastard," she wheezed.

Aidie gathered to her knees, the world spinning rapidly around her as she worked her bearings. The sound of terrified screaming echoed through the tunnel of streets as the Formers savaged the village bit by bit. She wobbled to her feet, hand bracing against any surface she could find to steady her movement as she left bloodied hand prints after her. Every part of her petrified mind begged her to run, to flee from the monsters and the people wanting to kill her. But her instinct told her she had to stand up and fight, to protect the place she now called home. To protect her family.

Holstering the Longshot, she drew out her pistol, wishing that she still had her Gorgon. The Boltok rarely stood up against the Locust, but she was fighting a different threat now, one entirely susceptible to a bullet to the brain.

Blood dribbled down her arm splashing on the cobbles, forcing her to stop and assess the injury. She held her arm upright, as a temporary measure, as she dropped into the cover of a doorway. She fumbled around in her first aid pouch pulling out the ragged remnant of bandaging, but there was barely enough to wrap once around the entire wound. Her next option was to keep it elevated until she made it to the schoolrooms, there was always a first aid kit kept there, she just needed to slow the bleeding until then. That and stop the scent of blood from reaching the Formers.

"I'm coming for you bitch," Chrysto's eerie threats echoed through the streets.

As she eased herself from the darkness Chrysto's rusted hammer swung abruptly at her, she dove out of the way, and a shower of stone rained over her. She blindly fired in his direction, hearing his whiny laugh in response.

"You gotta do better than that to catch me,"

She heard his breathing this time, huffing and puffing and a distinctive wheeze as he hoisted the hammer to deliver another blow. This time she was ready for him, he had caught her off guard once, she sure as hell wasn't going to fall victim again. As the hammer swung toward her in a cloud of dust, she lay on her back, both hands gripping the pistol and fired upwards. A grunt, followed by the sound of the hammer clipping a nearby wall confirmed a hit. She struggled back to her feet forcing herself to keep silent to listen for his movements.

From the dust charged a Former, its burning core set firmly on her position, eyes lit in hunger. She fired at it until it puffed into ashy nothingness. The diversion had been enough to avert her attention as Chrysto charged behind her. He elbowed her to the ground, causing her to cry out in pain at the impact against her arm

"You killed my brother," he spat as he wrapped a huge hand around her neck, "you will pay for this."

For a moment she struggled one handed against him, the red mist dropping over his vision as he watched the whites of her eyes flash in fear. He was unaware of the Locust blade she slipped from the sheath on her waist with her bloodied hand. He didn't even notice as the blade jabbed at an angle into his guts. He felt the knife withdraw, as the serrated edges hacked away at his insides as she drew it out. He sucked in a gasp as he clutched at his stomach, watching the blood bubble over his fingers. He stared back at her just as she pulled the pistol to his head and fired.

"I would have thought you'd have learnt from your brother's mistakes," she commented emotionless, pulling herself from his slumped body and into the shadows as the Formers started swarming towards the fresh kill.

It was the diversion she needed to get into the school room before they chose her as their next target.

* * *

Lem wandered aimlessly through the streets, no idea where he was going or where he had come. He knew he had made the best decision, leaving Cam and Archer back at the infirmary, but wished he had asked for directions beforehand. As he twisted his way through the labyrinthine streets, he had no clue whether he'd already been down it.

His inexperience with a weapon proved to be a rather major failing on his behalf. He wondered why he had never considered it before, although he had always relied on the stronger built more aggressive members of the Nightmares, Lem had never thought that he would have to hold his own alone anymore. He had limited ammunition and no other weapon to help defend himself. Instead, he opted to use his instincts. He crouched behind a wall watching a group of Formers snarl at one another as they stalked the street. He had noticed that they seemed more volatile since their release, they were now quicker to provoke and faster when they responded. At least he could say that he was good at observing any changes. It didn't bare thinking that he was responsible for a lot of these abominations. But he'd never thought he would be encountering these creatures face to face again.

A sound of a scuffle nearby drew his attention. For fear of bringing any further noise, he crept quietly to investigate, dropping into cover. He caught sight of Chrysto swinging his beastly hammer at some unfortunate victim. Lem had mixed feelings about his fellow Nightmares. Their tactics had always bordered on the extreme, but he had remained a part of them purely for the sake of their Leader until Angelo had needed him more. To the point that now as he watched Chrysto's brutal nature emerge once again, he felt sickened that he had been a part of them. Not that his actions had been excusable. He watched a moment, realising that he recognised the victim, short stature, scruffy blonde curls. Aidan. He felt confused, hadn't Wilks said that she was dead? Unless she had escaped.

From a distance he watched as Aidan, struggled against Chrysto, he contemplated stepping in to help, but the Formers were drawing closer to the smell of blood, and he didn't have enough ammunition to make a dent. As she fired the kill shot and the Formers swarmed he followed her, unseen, to the school rooms.

He flung the door open in haste, slamming it closed after him, for fear of the Formers following him. Darkness surrounded him as he squinted around for his target, Aidan had to be somewhere. Blindly he felt his way around wooden desks and chairs, shuffled and flipped over to defend the people inside. The sound of hushed panicky voices echoed somewhere further in the structure. He followed the murmuring until he entered a back room where three small boys huddled in the corner.

The sound of the trigger clicking against the safety alerted him as he slowly turned to find Aidie standing behind the door with a gun held to his head.


	21. Chapter 21 - Ghosts of the Past

**Author's Note -** So as the chapters tumble onwards you'll be pleased to know that my proofreader and I have gone through all the remaining chapters and discussed at length. Took us several hours arguing over characters. Mainly because he was in denial at certain things. But we've worked our way through it. The plus side means we are on the last straight of chapters now. It may take a while editing before posting due to work obligations but we're nearly there. Sadly.

So in the meanwhile, here's the next chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One – Ghosts of the Past**

* * *

"Aidan," Lem cautiously spoke, "It's me, Lem."

"I'm perfectly aware who it is," she calmly responded adjusting her grip on her weapon.

He noticed the blood dripping down her arm and the way she held it closer to her body in protection, he could easily overpower her if he wanted. But then, as his eyes drifted to her steely expression, he realised that she was more likely to fire at him at a single flinch, let alone a heroic tackle. It was easy to forget that this was the same girl who once sat by his bedside reading him bedtime stories to help ease his nightmares.

"We thought you were dead Aidan," he explained.

"You left me for dead you inconsiderate asshole,"

It surprised him how much she maintained her composure, the Aidan of old used to fly aggressively off the handle very quickly. He wondered how much of it was her training and how much was down to the presence of the children in the room.

"I had no choice,"

"There was a baby there Lem, you just left us in a cell full of Formers, I know you were pissed at me, but that was no way to seek revenge,"

"We make the decisions we make for the people we love," he stood by his choices, despite his regrets.

"So feeding me to the Formers would cure Angelo?" She scoffed.

"I would have freed you, if Angelo hadn't released the Formers I would have let you go when I had the chance,"

"Would that have been before or after you injected Wilks with the same poison you injected those women,"

The penny dropped as Lem realised Aidan had more reason than others to want to have him killed. It was time to find a way to negotiate out of her aggression.

"You can't shoot me Aidan. I'm the only thing that stands between Wilks and the cure,"

"Wrong, Angelo holds that key and you have no control over him anymore,"

"What's that supposed to mean," he frowned.

She lowered the gun slightly, still keeping it trained on him. Despite how much hostility she felt towards him, despite their history. She knew she needed an element of tact to break the news to Lem that the person he had spent his entire teenage years protecting was now beyond saving.

"Lem, there's something you need to know about Angelo, he's turned, I saw him leading the Formers into the village. Completely consumed by Lambency."

"What?" Lem frowned, "stop it, don't be ridiculous."

"You think I'd lie to you about that, me of all people?"

There was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, "I don't believe you."

"I'm afraid so, I witnessed it myself, saw him kill my people. You can't come back from that,"

"Shut up, Aidan, you always dismissed him. Angelo is stronger than that. We didn't go through all this hell just for him to…to…"

The sound of Formers scrabbling at the boarded up windows sent a chill up his spine. Was this what Angelo had become now, a brainless zombie with a thirst for blood? He refused to accept that it could happen to the person he had spent such a long time fighting for.

The three boys, huddled together in the corner of the room let out a collective squeal at the sound of the monsters. Lem frowned as he registered them for the first time, pathetic little humans scared of their shadows. And yet there was something about them that looked familiar, a distinctive likeness to a certain Sergeant.

"What the hell is this Aide?" he demanded as he gesticulated aggressively in their direction, his emotions swirled trying to fight back the confusing pain of losing Angelo, "who are they?"

The smallest, no older than three scampered out of his huddle and darted towards Aidie, clinging to her leg for protection. The other two shuffled closer although the sounds of the Formers drove them back into the corner. Lem couldn't understand the body language between her and the three boys, and it made him want to rage at the unjustness.

"So everything you told Frost was just a lie," he commented sharply astonished at her audacity.

"Lem stop," she interjected, lowering the weapon for the first time, "whatever's going through your head, stop."

"Is this why you left Port Farrell? To hide your dirty secret?" He wasn't even certain why he was so angry.

"Woah, hold up Lem, let me speak," she said eventually holstering her weapon and holding her hands out to stop him, the blood from her wound dripped from the tips of her fingers, "they are the reason we left Port Farrell, yes. But I'm not their mother. For Pete's sake, the eldest is seven. These boys needed our help. Their mother reached out to us, searching for Wilks' father. She and her children had escaped from a birthing farm, not long after Jacinto had sunk, and in the process her handler had been killed. Despite it being an accident both she and her boys were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. It transpired that Wilks' father and their mother had a history, he had protected her in return for fathering her children so he could train them as soldiers once they came of age. So, of course, her hopes of escaping her sentencing lay in finding him. Without him, there was no hope of an appeal, and unfortunately, despite his best approach, Ollyvar Wilks could not save her. We did not want to lose those children. We worked out our best options, regardless of what we did the boys would still have a price on their head leaving us with very few options."

Finally taking note of her injury, she lifted her arm up to help slow the bleeding and made her way to the medical box on the wall, fumbling around with the latch and retrieving a wad of dressing. Lem watched her fiddle with the packing one-handed until he decided to assist her. Roughly pulling her arm towards him and taking off the bloodied bandages. She flinched as he squirted an alcohol solution over the injury, giving them both a chance to assess the wound.

"Nothing changes," he tutted as he blotted the wound with a dressing and wrapped it up tightly. He watched Aidan wince each time he tightened the bandaging over her arm, a slight sense of satisfaction chilled him at her discomfort.

"Back at Port Farrell, I had also attracted the unwanted attention of one of the Lieutenants during my cadet training. He started making life difficult for Wilks, attempting to override his authority as my guardian. His men surrounded him one night, beat him up and threatened him if he dared stop him from taking me away. So we sat down that night, all of us, and made a decision that would change our lives forever. Before the sun rose the next morning Wilks and I wed in the grounds of a derelict church. Wilks knew that if anything happened to him once I had his name, I would be immune from any further danger, they couldn't take me away. Then as Wilks spent the afternoon answering for his actions, I entered the holding cells where the boys were being held and broke them out. I knocked out a guard, and we ran. It hadn't been an easy decision, but we had all made a choice as a family. We plotted out our next step to ensure that Wilks wasn't implicated in any of my actions. While he provided us with a diversion, I led the kids out of Port Farrell and headed as far as we could go. Wilks followed us shortly behind, under cover of darkness. We fled the COG for their safety, to save the lives of Wilks' half brothers."

Lem frowned, "You put your life on the line for some stranger's kids?"

"And how was that any different to what Wilks did for us?" She matched him with ferocity, "he never gave it a second thought coming to us at our Compound, or when that monster dragged you into the hollows. He saw it as his duty. Just as he saw these boys as his family, three scared kids with no father and their mother about to be executed just because she wanted a better life for her children."

The eldest boy quietly made his way to Aidie's side and placed a hand on her arm in reassurance.

"I know what's been going through your head all this time Lem. You keep wondering why I refused Frost only to take in these children for Wilks. I never wanted to be a birthing mule, not for Frost, not for anyone. I wanted to have control over my future. When I looked at Frost that day on the docks, I saw a man who had decided everything for me. He had already worked out how many children he wanted, it was like I had never known him, and it scared me. But then I saw the way Wilks responded to how his deceased father had planned his entire life for him. And I saw the lengths he took to protect the small boys that he should have shunned from his family name. It made me realise that I could only aspire to be as honourable as him. Wilks gave his career for these boys, the years he had spent building his reputation went the moment we fled Port Farrell. And he didn't think twice about it. There isn't anything I wouldn't give to help him."

Lem was unsure on the best response. He knew that Port Farrell held a lot of dark secrets and the mess he and Angelo had gone through had only been one of them. Lem had just assumed that Aidan had run off and forgotten her family as if they had meant nothing. But then as he looked at the three boys and the connection they seemed to have with her, it was evident that she was more than just their protector. She had looked after these kids like they were her own. Not an easy feat considering the promises Wilks had made her.

"How did you manage it?" His asked quietly.

"For a long while we struggled, no one wanted to take us in. The Stranded saw our armour and spat in our direction. We were desperate. Then Miles managed to gain contact with a woman from this village. They knew one another from a past life, one that surpassed the animosity between Gears and Stranded. She had children herself and offered to take the boys, house, clothe and feed them. In exchange, we presented ourselves as security to the town. It wasn't easy, the leader was notoriously aggressive and hated the COG, so we spent our lives trying to prove our loyalty to them. But together we survived and adapted."

She stretched and flexed her hand, testing the dexterity of her fingers now she was half bandaged. Lem thoughtfully watched her as she pulled out a handful of bullets and slotted them into the pistol.

"I'm trying to get my head around why you'd still play the married game now that you're no longer with the COG," he said.

"Well, I thought you of all people would have understood that," she responded frankly, her blue eyes flicking briefly to him, "I'm also surprised that my brother never said anything to you. Wilks found him at Port Farrell, explained everything to him and asked him to be a witness to our union."

"Eli knew?" the feeling of betrayal cut him deep, "he never said a word."

"He and Wilks talked for a long while beforehand, I don't even know what they discussed,"

She lined each of the boys up to assess if any were injured, despite shallow cuts and scratches they were okay. She told them to stay put, making them each link hands with one another, as she went to check the rest of the building in preparation for their escape, leaving Lem alone with them. He stood awkwardly, staring back at them with no idea as to what to say. He still found it hard to understand that these humans were the reason she had ditched the COG.

The sound of Formers echoed somewhere through the building, Lem leapt backwards as they scrabbled again at the boarded windows. They hissed and screeched, snapping back splinters of wood as they tried to get in. Instinct made Lem stand protectively in front of the boys as he spread his hands outwards to make sure they stayed behind him. He braced himself as a Former struggled against the boarding, ripping it quickly apart and wriggling its lambent body through the small human sized gap. It caught sight of Lem and screamed, the other Formers nearby squeezing beside it to get to him.

The boys to their credit kept silent, assuming their tight huddle behind him. It was down to him to protect the children from the monsters he had created.

"It's okay," he half tried to convince himself as he squeezed the trigger on the Gorgon, hitting the Former in the face, "they aren't that scary are they?"

For every Former he hit another three appeared in its place, snapping and cracking at the wood that kept them at bay. Lem fired at them again just as one managed to wriggle free lunged at him, knocking his weapon from his hands. He let out a panicked yelp, this time backing the boys against the wall.

"Hey!" Aidan's voice sounded from the adjacent room, drawing the Formers attention as she fired at them, her pistol blew the creature back as she rushed towards them, kicking the Gorgon towards Lem. He bent down to pick up the weapon as she grabbed the youngest boy, hoisting him into her arms and ushering the others along with her. Lem sprinted behind as the Formers finally smashed the window open and surged through after them. A turbulent sea of Lambent dead.

"Go go go!" she urged, darting around tables and chairs as they sprinted through the school rooms.

The main door burst open as more Formers charged inside, blocking off their only exit. Aidan let out a gasp as she stopped herself from stumbling into them, twisting the child away from the brunt of the creatures and indicated to the corridor. Lem stopped a moment as a Former reeled backwards at the sight of him. Before it could lunge, Lem fired at it, letting it explode into a puff of ash.

"Aide it knew me," he called to her, "I think it remembered me."

"Your point?" she responded back sharply, as she turned to fire again to slow the steady sea of Formers from swallowing them whole.

"I'm your diversion,"

"No way,"

"I have a plan," he said, "I can provide a diversion while you get the kids to safety."

"You don't need to put your life on the line, Lem. I have an idea which doesn't involve either of us sacrificing ourselves. There's a storage basement, we get there and blow the bastards up," she panted, hoisting the slipping child further up her hip.

"Where's the basement?"

"The old boiler room, follow the hallway and to the left,"

They ran as fast as they could, the children hanging onto them for dear life as the wave of Former Humans pursued them. Aidie reached the door, ushering Lem and the boys in, dropping the smallest to his feet while she wedged a block of wood through the looped handles. She sent him an exhausted look.

"Why the hell did you make so many monsters?"

"I didn't make all these!" He yelled in an attempt to defend himself, "they must have found more."

"Well you certainly helped it along," she snapped, making her way to the hatchway in the floor and heaved the metal panel upwards. She ushered the boys to her as they hesitated beside the boiler room door, just at the Formers slammed hard against it. Realising their caution she took the plunge first, stepping into the darkness and reaching out to them from the bunker, "it's okay, I promise it's okay."

Lem picked up a canister that rested on a table beside the boiler, sniffing to identify the contents, then started tipping the fuel over the floor. Aidan meanwhile had managed to negotiate the boys into the bunker and returned to assist him in laying the trap. She loaded kindling and fuel into the boiler and hunted around for a lighter. The Formers smashed hard to get to them as the wooden block broke apart and thrust the door open.

"Get in!" she yelled, finally grabbing a lighter and sprinting after Lem to the bunker.

They leapt downwards into the dark as Aidie flipped the lighter and thrust it towards the oncoming surge of Formers. Lem heaved the hatch down, using all his might to keep it shut as Aidie threw herself over the boys in protection. The room above them filled with a bright blinding light as the Formers exploded outwards, taking the rest of the building down with them.

Lem hung pathetically to the handle of the hatch, panting in exhaustion, listening to the sound of the building collapsing on top of them.

"Can you say overkill?" he wobbled a witty retort, feeling his limbs start to shake as the adrenaline that had kept him alive slowly ebbed from him.

"Well that's certainly one way to kill a few Formers," she responded from the darkness, the blue indicator lights from her armour the only give away to her location.

"I suppose we've all wanted to blow up a school at some point in our educational lives,"

He could hear her chuckle to herself, "Oh hell, the one time Wilks trusted me to be careful."

"I'm scared," one of the boys squeaked nearby.

"It's okay," Aidie soothed him, her tone of voice turning gentle in response, "it's like a huge game of hide-and-seek and right now we're doing an excellent job of hiding."

Lem could hear her scuffle around in the darkness until a lamp illuminated the room, revealing a small bunker-like room with random weapons on the wall and a shelf of food rations. The boys scurried further into the room, patiently waiting for Aidie to hand them something to eat. Lem eventually plonked himself beside them as the smallest child picked his moment to curl up on his lap while he munched on his ration bar.

They were silent for a while, an unspoken tension between them as Aidie busied herself poking around the bunker until she eventually slumped herself down to finally face him.

"So what happened back at the Rendez-Vous?" she asked, resting her bandaged arm upright against her chest. She looked pale and completely exhausted.

Lem stared back at her as the smallest child wriggled further into the comfort of his lap.

"So much happened at Port Farrell that the COG turned a blind eye to most of it." Lem murmured, his mind casting back as if it were yesterday, "For a while, we stayed within the confines of the infirmary, they started to treat Angelo with the same medication they had used on Frost, as he had shown so much improvement. It was tough, but we were getting along just fine. Then things started to change the day the Lieutenant died."

"What?"

"A freak accident, unfortunately, he was hit by a patrol vehicle one night. It had been raining. The car spun out of control in the wet conditions and pinned him under the tyres. He was crushed to death before they could pull him out,"

"Oh my god Lem. I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"You weren't the only one with problems it seems," he sighed, "without the Lieutenant, things just spiralled for us. The kid, David was sucked into the civilian masses, and we never saw much of him again. Frost stayed with us a little longer, but that was mostly because he was so stubbornly protective of the part of his family he had left. You leaving him had crushed him, and he took a lot of his anger out on Eli, shouting and screaming at him for no reason, poor Eli just stood there and accepted it. Then one night Frost just disappeared, no note, no answers from anyone, nothing. Eli spent a while investigating his whereabouts, but I think he dug too far because he caught the attention of a few high ranking officials and before he knew it they had recruited him into a squad and was shipped off to Vectes."

"If only I'd known,"

"There would have been nothing to stop it. In all honesty, our fate had been dealt to us the moment we reached Jacinto. You were always going to leave us, whether it was with Wilks or to the highest bidder. Eli was always going to get recruited, someone with those brains would have caught the attention of a someone rather quickly. The only thing we had no control over was the Lieutenant. Without him, there was no reason to keep us together. Even Angelo spiralled, his aggression spiked out of control to the point that he started hurting people. Then one day a nurse tried to take his blood, he saw the needle and snapped. He killed the nurse and severely injured several others, he only calmed down because I managed to corner him and talk him down. But it was enough for the COG. They had him arrested, dragged him away kicking and screaming as they sentenced him to death. I begged them to give him a chance, I have never pleaded so much in my life before, but they just stared at me and held me back as they tied him up and beat him senseless. I can still hear his screams in my head when I go to sleep."

The look on her face was enough for him. She had no words to offer as consolation.

"Then when he was bloodied and blue they heaved him to his feet to execute him. That was it. I braced myself for the inevitable. And then it happened, the sound of guns going off and the men that had restrained me dropped to the ground. I remember looking up to see this horrifically disfigured guy standing above me offering a hand. His face was an absolute mess, and I hardly recognised him but he was there when I needed him, and that was all that mattered. He had found a group of people just as disfigured as him, they became unwanted soulless creatures and fled the cruelty of the COG. He helped me untie Angelo's badly battered body, and we ran with him. He saved my life, and I promised my loyalty in return. I'm assuming you've already guessed who I'm talking about,"

She slowly nodded in response, the look on her face showed just how much it had broken her heart, "I don't understand how it could have changed him so much. When he captured us back at the church, I would never have known."

"The cruelty of humanity can change a man,"

She leaned back a bit, one hand placed over her eyes as she processed the whole series of events through her head. At the same time her other hand dropped subconsciously to rest over her stomach, Lem watched her carefully. She let out a heavy sigh with a slight stutter of emotion laced into it.

"I _am_ sorry about Angelo, Lem, you guys have been through so much cruelty that you deserved better,"

"I don't know where I belong anymore, Aide. We fought so hard to keep him human, I hurt so many people, alienated myself from so many chances to start again. So many young desperate women pleading to me for mercy and all I thought of was Angelo. After all that, the monster I have become, and he still turns. I thought I could save him," All the suppressed pain and emotion rose to a head. The lump in his throat was almost too much to bear, "oh god and then I let the Professor inject Wilks, the guy that just wanted to help. I willingly let him. And your squad were just so angry and protective and supportive. They fought to keep him going, they never gave up, even when they thought you were dead. They told him stories of his parents, secrets he had never heard before. I even overheard Cam tell him that you were expecting, just to keep him going. I've never seen a more broken man."

As he glanced back at Aidan's destroyed expression, a tear escaped down her cheek as she tried to wipe it away before he noticed, and the realisation dawned.

"Oh shit," he said doing the sums in his head, "you aren't are you?"

She nodded slowly, dropping her hand from her stomach and rising to her feet to continue hunting around for something, making it clear that she'd rather not discuss it further.

"I locked you in a cage full of monsters," he gasped, "and I poisoned the father of your unborn child. Shit, what the hell have I done?"

"You did exactly what was expected of you, considering all the betrayal you have been through," she commented dryly, the walls of emotion coming back up, "look, just promise me, no matter what happens to this village. Whoever's side you're on, please honour your word and get that cure to Wilks."

He stared back at her and nodded.

The sound of voices overhead drew their attention, Lem untangled himself from the youngest child and rushed to the hatch, bashing on the metal to alert them to their location. After a few minutes, the doorway drew open to reveal Freja standing above them with her Torque Bow aimed in their direction.


	22. Chapter 22 - To Motivate a Traitor

**Author's Note -** A shorter chapter compared to the ones coming up. Well here we go folks, one more chapter closer to the end.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Two – To Motivate A Traitor**

* * *

Freja had kept a low profile as the village had fallen around her. The villagers were so preoccupied with attempting to keep their home free from the rapidly spreading fires that she vanished easily into the panicking crush of bodies. She had followed the masses while they had established a safe place for them to hide as the monsters attacked. She slipped away as she caught sight of Aidie, following her movements from the shadows, as she took vigil above the infirmary to protect it. She carefully watched her tactics working out her strengths and, more importantly, her weaknesses. But Freja already knew, the moment Aidie fired at the charging Nightmare to protect the two unsuspecting Gears, that she had found a way to destroy her.

She disappeared back into the darkness to work out her next step in her plan, the Formers surged past angrily, screaming and screeching as they charged. Even though she suspected they had allied themselves with her Nightmares, she chose to keep in the shadows for fear of how they would react to her. She needed to find the Leader.

She charged behind the Formers, dropping into cover each time they sniffed her scent, using the moment to scout for her people. The flames from the fires grouped a few of the survivors towards the harbour where she could see a few Nightmares standing aggressively and striking them down as they ran towards them. In their midst she discovered the Leader, swinging his blade at whoever came close. It wasn't until she approached into his view that he finally caught sight of her. He lowered his weapon and charged towards her, clutching her tightly into his arms at her touch.

"Thank goodness you're safe," he spoke into the familiar smell of her neck, "I couldn't find you at the mansion and had my doubts that the Formers had taken you."

"Heavens no," she chuckled, planting a kiss on his lips, "that little blonde COG girl got me out, led me right here. Just how I wanted."

He nodded thoughtfully at the information, "so she survived."

"Tougher than you gave her credit," she slung her Torque Bow over her shoulder as she approached her men and indicated to the lurking Formers, "I see you've rallied a different kind of troop."

"They're here to serve a purpose, destroy the village, fewer human losses,"

"Always knew there was a reason why I picked you," she smirked, teasingly squeezing his bicep and pointing at another fleeing civilian.

At her direction, he charged toward them thrusting his blade outward and carved the civilian cleanly in half. The Formers descended upon the body straight after, stripping it of its flesh within minutes.

"Those Gears you captured, they escaped I see," she commented as she pulled out her Torque and fired at a mother and child running from the Formers.

The Leader paused, "all of them?"

She nodded to confirm his assumptions.

"I want their Sergeant," there was a determination in his voice.

"I'm sure we can arrange that. I saw the Gears protecting the civilians in the infirmary. Watched the scarred one reunite with the COG girl,"

"That's the bastard,"

She chuckled to herself, "well then it seems as if our plans might merge nicely. She's his downfall, as he's hers. How about we take them down together. I saw her heading across the roof to the far side of the village."

"Angelo and his Formers are swarming over there. They've cut off a group of kids. Their screams must have drawn them in,"

"Angelo? You mean Lem's friend?"

"He's completely Lambent now, tread carefully, my love, he turns on you and the Formers will take you down," he returned to her, wiping the blood from his blade on a sleeve of one of his victims, "bring the Nightmares, at least to help protect you."

"As if I'm the one that needs protecting," she scoffed, "keep the men, you'll need them more than I do."

* * *

If there was one thing that Freja had learnt from her time walking Sera's wilderness, it was to adapt to the surroundings around her. She knew the people in the village were confused and frightened, to them she was a scared woman who had yet to make it to safety. She played the victim each time a surge of Polyps attacked within view of a Stranded guard, encouraging them to come to her aid. She used them to intentionally navigate towards her intended destination until they witnessed the school rooms explode along with a mass of Formers.

"Quick," she cried, "I saw people go in."

The handful of Stranded villagers charged forwards, tossing aside the debris of the destroyed building. She kept with them, digging through the remains in the hope of finding her quarry. The voice inside her head shouted out that she had to be there somewhere.

"The Bunker!" One villager hollered as he happened upon the destroyed door that had once led to the boiler room, "if there are any survivors they'll be there."

Together they dug away at the shattered remains of the building, frantically searching for any signs of survival. Freja scrabbled at the ground on her hands and feet, the heat from the explosion still enough to bite back at the touch. Soot and dirt caking her body the deeper she dug and shifted debris until she felt the warmth of the metal bunker door under her fingers.

"I've found it!" She yelled out, moving back to allow the villagers to shift the heavier panels from the door. The sound of someone banging on the metal now emerging from the bunker below them.

She watched as they removed the final chunk of debris from the door, approaching as one heaved the remains to one side. Carefully she drew the Stranded guard's sidearm from his holster, quietly checking his bullet count and holding the gun to his head. She fired before he even realised she was there. The others turned in response, fumbling with the heavy debris between them. Before they could go for their weapons, she shot at them all. It didn't need to be accurate she just needed them incapacitated. She watched as one of her victims tried to drag himself away from her, his hands grasping out for something to protect himself.

"Nope," she chuckled as she planted a bullet in his head, "when will you pathetic humans learn?"

She kicked the body to one side as she cleared the rest of the debris from the door and hefted the metal weight open. It swung open with a clang. Inside Aidie and Lem squinted back up at her as she angled her Torque down at them. She chuckled loudly, preparing herself to continue playing the game until she had her victim where she wanted her.

"Lem thank goodness I found you!" She was thankful that Lem was there, so a part of her knew it wasn't all an act.

She offered a hand out to Lem, hoisting him out of the bunker. He grumbled thanks, hesitating as he took stock of the bodies strewn behind her. His questions silenced as she handed him the three small boys from the darkness. She took note of them huddling behind Lem in relief. As Aidie came into her view, she lifted her Torque Bow and aimed it at her. Aidie drew her gun from the holster in response.

"Freja," exhaustion prevented Aidie from hiding the wobble of alarm from her voice, "what are you doing?"

"Look at you, little COG girl," she chortled, loading her Torque and drawing it in readiness, "you're falling apart."

"There's a lot of fight still left in me," Aidie winced from the pain in her arm as she adjusted her grip on the pistol.

"What's going on?" Lem asked nervously, "you wouldn't hurt a pregnant woman?"

Aidie physically flinched at his announcement, "Lem, please."

"What? I didn't realise it was a secret,"

"Lem my sweet," Freja half turned to him, eyes twinkling dangerously in response, "please go get yourself to safety. He's rallying the troops and needs your support."

"What about the Formers?"

"They're on our side, he's united us with the monsters for a bigger purpose," her voice brimmed with pride.

"Why are you destroying this village Commander?"

"Why were you creating Formers, Lem? We have our reasons for our actions,"

Aidie's hard laugh from the bunker drew Freja's anger.

"Commander? Seriously? Why am I not surprised that you're with those freaks?"

"You would never understand," On realising that she and Aidie were at a stalemate she went for the next best thing to gain the upper hand. She lunged at one of the boys and dragged him towards her as he kicked and screamed in response. The look on Aidie's face was enough for her, "these kids mean something to you, so I'm assuming you'll do anything to protect them. It's not the first time I've killed children, so don't think I'm just bluffing."

"Don't you _dare_ hurt him," There was a genuine worry in Aidie's voice, her eyes fixed on the child as she clutched both hands around the pistol's grip.

"What's going on Commander?" Lem asked, now placing a protective arm across the other two boys to prevent further harm coming to them.

"Don't make me tell you twice, Lem, this is none of your business. It's between me and this blonde cracker,"

"Jaxton, it's okay sweetheart, I'm not going to leave you," Aidie spoke directly to the child before fixing Freja with a look, "whatever issue you have with me, deal with me. But I beg you, leave the kids out of it."

"Aidie!" the little boy screamed as the blade on the Torque Bow sliced across his chin, drawing blood.

"Freja!" Aidie made a quick decision at the sight of the child's blood, releasing her hold and offered the gun out on her open palm, "let him go, and I'll come willingly."

The offer was too tempting for Freja to resist, she watched as Aidie handed over her weapon as a testament to her word. Reluctantly she pushed the boy from her, letting him stumble to the dirt at the force. Freja grabbed hold of the young Gear's arm to hoist her out of the bunker, as she holstered her newly acquired gun she took her eyes off her hostage for a moment. She never expected Aidie to twist against her and elbow her in the nose to force her release. As Freja bellowed a yowl of pain, Aidie staggered forwards, grabbing the fallen boy and urging the others onwards.

"Go!" She cried, "get to the infirmary."

Despite how fast Aidie ran, Freja was quicker and a damn side less tired. She sprinted towards Aidie and wrestled her backwards before she could get away. She struggled and kicked out against her, crying out for the boys to keep running, begging Lem to get them to safety. Lem hesitated a moment, the boys dragging him away from the scene as he glanced back at her. Freja clamped a firm hand around the wound across her arm, squeezing it tightly forcing Aidie to let out a yelp in response. Freja then slid out her knife from its sheath and angled it towards Aidie's unprotected stomach.

"Don't think I won't do it," she spat as she pressed the blade against her bare flesh until Aidie let out an involuntary sob and eventually stopped fighting.

"Please Lem," she whimpered to him, "get them safe."

As he turned heel and fled, the boys keeping pace with him, he felt every part a failure that everyone had accused him.

* * *

"Was it all a lie?" Aidie asked as she plodded alongside Freja towards the harbour, resigning herself to becoming her hostage.

"Shall we say I embellished it a little," Freja angled her Torque Bow a little as she gave her a sly look, "Anyway, it seems I wasn't the only one holding back the entire truth."

"The difference is, I never lied to you, I just chose to omit a rather personal detail from someone I didn't know,"

"The good that did you," She fired her Torque at movement in the shadows and watched as a Polyp exploded at the impact.

"What is your plan for me, aside, I assume, being used as bait,"

"We'll see, depends on our end game, maybe we'll keep you alive until the child arrives and then deal with you accordingly,"

Aidie let out a dry chuckle, "and you don't think that I'd have something to say about your plans. Let alone the father,"

Freja smirked to herself in response and poked Aidie in the back with the Torque, "I doubt it,"

* * *

Lem felt his legs thunder automatically underneath him as he ran with the three boys blindly towards safety. He hadn't realised that the eldest child was directing them back towards the infirmary, the kid had a determination he had rarely seen in someone so young. He would pause every so often to take stock of his position, pulling his brothers behind cover each time a Polyp skittered past. Lem felt himself follow the kid, rather than take the lead. There was no question the child had picked up his half brother's military heritage.

A strong pair of hands grabbed hold of the kid as they rounded the corner of a building, causing him to let out a yelp. Lem lunged forwards to grab him backwards, attempting to wrestle him from whoever had taken him. He caught sight of Archer's familiar gruff figure as he managed to pluck the child from Lem's pathetic hold.

As much as Lem wanted to believe that finding the Stranded guard meant that they had finally reached safety, he couldn't help thinking that once again he had failed. Archer knelt down to check the child over, Cam now beside him doing the same with the younger two. The smallest wrapping his arms tightly around someone he finally recognised. Cam steadied himself at the child's hold and hugged him back.

"It's okay kid, yer safe now," he said as he ran a careful hand over the child's fair hair.

"We need to get them back to the infirmary," Archer announced, offering a hand out to the youngest, who hid his head in Cam's chest plate in shyness.

"I'll carry Trystan," Cam suggested, picking the child up, "the other two will follow you I'm sure."

Then, as if the pair had only just realised that Lem was still with them, Cam and Archer both fixed their attention on him.

"Kid," Cam approached him and placed a grateful hand on his arm, "yer found them and got them to safety. On Wilks' behalf, I thank you."

"Actually," Lem heard himself admitting, even though there was a small part of him that wanted to take Cam's offered gratitude, "it was Aidan. She found them, got us to safety. Formers surrounded us, and we were forced to blow the school rooms apart."

"She's alive? Where is she?"

"The Commander of the Nightmares, she took her. She exchanged her life for the boy,"

"Please help her," the eldest child eventually spoke up, gripping his fingers around Archer's hand, "she saved my life."

Cam paused in response, deliberating their next move, "we get yer to safety. Then we take down these bastards. Lem, are you coming?"

It was the first time Cam had referred to Lem by his name. It meant that he was getting that one step closer to forgiving him, but Lem knew he didn't deserve the trust, not when he had let his old friend get taken from him by a vengeful killer. Once again Lem had betrayed those he had once held dear. He didn't even know his purpose anymore. Everything he had done was for Angelo, every choice he made was to help him, but now he didn't even know when he'd crossed the line. He had willingly agreed that poisoning Wilks would help get the serum back for the sake of Angelo, unknowingly contributing to jeopardising so many other lives at the same time. The three small boys that Wilks had thrown his life and career away to protect, the young wife that carried his unborn child who would do anything to support him. Did he even have a moral compass if he allowed such barbaric acts to guide him?

"No, I'm not," he eventually spoke, his mind shutting off, "there is something I promised I needed to get."

From the moment he had discovered that Angelo had turned Lambent Lem had spent a good long while switching off the part of his brain that wanted to cry out for him. He wanted to crumple into a ball and cry, the years he had sat beside him, begging him to fight it, all for nothing. The things they had gone through together, good and bad. It had been a good long while since Lem and Angelo had sat beside him while they had joked about the obstacles they had encountered. And as he stood there staring at nothing, he remembered the last time Angelo had laughed, back at the Compound when things had seemed so uncomplicated. Before their home had slipped into the darkness. Before the Imulsion had swallowed them whole. Before life had destroyed him. Right now he just wanted to be there, beside Angelo's bed joking about their pathetic combined nickname, regaling him with a story he had once read about the Allfathers. He wasn't ready to face the inevitable. He didn't want to accept that Angelo was gone. But for the sake of the young lives that he now felt responsible for, he knew he had to finally let Angelo go.


	23. Chapter 23 - Someone to Watch Over You

**Author's Note -** Well we're down to the last three chapters. And I have them all ready for your reading pleasure. I will be releasing them on a weekly basis just to ration the heartbreak for you. In the meanwhile please feel free to follow my twitter account that I've salvaged from the doldrums (the link can be found on my profile). It now has my crazy rants and stress filled writing and provides you with a glimpse of the commissions that are being artistically constructed by MyFantasiWorld. That's right pictures!

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, now things are getting serious.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three – Someone to Watch Over You**

* * *

Wilks could feel himself falter. For every blow he threw against each creature that dared to stop him he could feel his body edge closer to the brink. He held back the rage inside as it begged to tear out of him, to pour his aggression into something so much stronger. He wanted to smash them to pieces until they were nothing more than a mulch of blood and bone. But he couldn't risk letting the demon out for fear of it never returning.

For every step he took to the edge, Miles brought him back. His voice a distant reminder to hold onto the humanity inside. The sound of his Snub blasting out at each Polyp that charged at them, keeping them back before they threatened to approach. They worked together, clearing the streets as they went, steadily making their way to the harbour. Wilks drew to a halt, dropping his exhausted body behind cover as Miles planted himself heavily beside him.

"Of all times to have a broken arm," he grumbled, tugging at the restraints that prevented him from going full out crazy.

"It's probably a good thing," Wilks observed, "It's bad enough having one of us on the verge, we don't need both."

"Cam would be so pissed,"

Wilks half chuckled to himself as he drew the Lancer's magazine out and counted the bullets, digging through his pouch for the remaining few and slotting them in place, then clicking the weapon firmly together. He peered over cover to assess their next move.

"The harbour's to the left. I suggest we split up, evaluate the situation then flank,"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Miles commented, slotting his Snub into the crook of his broken arm so he could attempt to reload, "what we're going to do is stick together, so you don't end up going all Glowie on me."

"Since when did you outrank me?" Wilks gave him a look.

"When your alter ego became a Former, I am certainly not double teaming with that kind of monstrosity,"

"Would keep you on your toes,"

"How the hell you're making light of the situation I'll never know,"

"That's the thing Miles," Wilks somberly responded as he levered himself out of cover, "I'm not. It's the fear that's talking."

He caught sight of a Former lumbering towards them, charging forward as he revved his chainsaw and sliced at it until all that remained was a splattered mess of Imulsion and ash. As Miles drew level with him, poking at the remnants in the dirt, Wilks spat blood to the ground.

"I'm not going down like that. I will be fighting against this until my last breath,"

"Never thought you were capable of anything else," Miles indicated to where a stalk had erupted and with it another surge of Polyps, "we'll probably all go down fighting at this rate."

"Either that or devoured by monsters, not a pretty sight either way," Wilks checked their position, close enough to the entrance to the harbour, but there were too many Polyps for them to handle alone, "you have any more of those flaming grenades on you?"

"How much more of this village do you want to set alight Ol?" The tone of Miles' voice laced with concern, the humour he had so often used in times of a crisis now wearing thin.

"I'm down to my last clip, what's your suggestion?"

They backed slowly away, in the hope they would slip the notice of the advancing Lambent, but luck it seemed wasn't on their side. Wilks turned to Miles, a sudden decisive air about him.

"I am willing to spend the rest of my life rebuilding this place from the ground up, you have my word, but right now setting fire to these bastards are my only option," his dark countenance gazed back upon the red headed Gear. They had been through a lot together over the years, Miles knew how Wilks' brain worked, how he had been trained to assess a situation. The father had bordered on the extreme, and the son had looked at the human aspect. Miles had adapted to work with both members of the Wilks family. But it was the son he viewed as family. It was the son he had followed when they decided to flee from the COG. And right now it was the son who was asking him to set fire to their home.

Miles was an idea man. His mechanical brain forced him to think outside the box, if there was another way, he would find it. As he glanced up at the burning structures around him, so many homes long beyond saving he questioned whether he might be the right person for the job.

"Crap," he cursed to himself, "okay, but we maximise on Polyps, limit destruction. See that building there?"

"The one already on fire?" Miles couldn't help notice the hint of uncertainty in Wilks' voice.

"We lure them in, set a trap, jump the hell out and blow the buggers to pieces,"

"You make it sound so simple. If it weren't for the already flaming building, I'd be right with you with enthusiasm,"

"Hey," Miles gave him a look, "the building is already on fire, I'm trying to keep what little we have left. Now, do you trust me?"

"Of course I bloody do," Wilks gave the building a cursory glance before assessing the area around it, "now you're going to listen to me. Get into cover, have that grenade ready and lit. I'll lure them in, and you light it up."

"That wasn't the…"

"I'm your Sergeant Miles," Wilks rarely played the rank card, if he did it was because he could see something from the situation that meant his family would come to harm. Something that Miles had overlooked. As much as he wanted to object, he knew Wilks had made his decision.

They planted themselves behind cover to assess their plan, Wilks carefully drawing the Polyps towards them. Miles kept himself hidden as his Sergeant made his approach into the burning building. The wall of heat hit him hard as he took a breath to steel himself and trod further into the darkness. Wilks could hear the clicking and hissing of the creatures as they skittered close. For a moment he wondered whether they'd grown too cautious of the situation, that they had evolved beyond blindly following their target into certain doom. But as one appeared suddenly in front of him, he realised that the Polyps had been trying to outthink him. He blasted it back with his Gnasher just as he heard the calculated clink of Miles' grenade.

"Incoming!" The engineer hollered.

"Shit, shit," Wilks threw himself at the back door, revving his chainsaw to slice the wood apart and squeeze out of the building.

He rolled heavily into the street. Hands clasped over his head to protect himself, as the room exploded outwards. The structure creaked and groaned as the wood shattered into pieces over him. He lay there, momentarily, as splinters of the building rained down on him. Slowly he made the decision to stagger to his feet and made his wobbly way back to Miles and saw a sight that chilled him to the bone. Miles, who had been picking off the odd burning Polyp from the building, was completely oblivious to the approaching Nightmares behind him. Wilks struggled to pull the Longshot from its webbing in time. He lifted the sight to his eye, lined up one target and pulled the trigger. Except he had forgotten that he'd been using Aidan's Longshot. The bullet sliced past his target, leaving Miles exposed.

"Miles!" Wilks cried out, "behind you."

Miles turned too late as three Nightmares descended upon him, one grabbed his already broken arm and yanked him backwards. Miles stifled a yelp as he swung his body around to wrestle himself out of the hold. His able arm lashed out, catching one of his attackers in the gut, throwing him to one side. He held himself well until two pulled out their Cleavers and held them either side of his neck, forcing him to a standstill.

Wilks drew to a halt at the scene, "Miles!"

Thaw lifted his Cleaver from Miles' neck for a moment and pointed it in Wilks' direction.

"Our Leader requires a meeting, just you and him, no tricks. We'll take this one for insurance. His safety will be guaranteed provided you keep your word,"

"The only thing that bastard is going to get is my fist in his face!" Wilks yelled angrily.

"Keep it together Ol," Miles called back, "do not let it destroy you."

Before Wilks could respond, Thaw and the Nightmares dragged a struggling Miles away with them, leaving the Sergeant alone to continue his approach.

Wilks let out a reluctant sigh, "it's been coming to this for a long time."

* * *

The Leader swung his giant blade at a fleeing civilian. He sliced at the woman again and again as she screamed at the impact, thrusting her forward into the water. She thrashed around a few times, reaching out to him for help. He sliced back at her with his blade, lopping off her arm and kicking her backwards. She struggled for a moment, the water staining red as she sank further into the depths. Gasping for air until her body bobbed motionlessly.

"Enough!" Wilks bellowed as he staggered to halt in the harbour.

The Leader whirled round at his adversary's voice and let out a throaty laugh.

"So this is where you hid yourself playing the doting husband, blinding yourself to this pathetic life growing fat and complacent," he flung his arms wide, "you thought you could keep the outside from this hole?"

"Don't you ever talk to me about fucking holes, I've saved enough of your family from them."

"You saved no-one, they're all fucking dead to me," he surged towards him angrily, giving away any inclination Wilks may have had in regards to his identity.

"That was the choice you made. No one forced you to make those decisions. You are here of your own free will."

"You think this was a choice?!" He roared, "You think I am here because this is what I wanted to make of myself. After all those years I spent aspiring and training, and I turn into this!"

He angrily ripped his mask off and thrust it to the floor, revealing his identity to Wilks.

He knew who to expect even before the cover came off, but he just didn't realise the magnitude of the monster he faced. Standing before him, staring with as much hatred as he could muster, his face a mess, cheek bone and partial eye socket revealed the husk that remained of the young adult he had once saved. Washington Frost spat blood at his feet in defiance.

"It should have been me,"

"Jealously? Seriously? That is what turned you into the creature you are, because of a fucking girl,"

Frost barked a laugh, "you think my life ended because she fucking ditched me? What kind of idiot do you think I am? I'm perfectly capable of moving on and surviving without her. But you, you should have taken me instead."

"What?"

"I was ready to become a soldier, the day you came to us I was so eager to prove to you that I was willing to fight by your side. But she fucking stuck her nose in, made it about herself, as she always did, and you fell hook line and sinker for the fucking innocent act. You became her white knight rather than the soldier you were meant to be, and I took the fall. Because of you that Mauler damaged me beyond repair. I stand here today as a reminder of your failure,"

"You're kidding me," Wilks racked his brain for any point that Frost had tried reached out to him, and failed, "you never said anything."

"I was the only one who didn't need training, who could handle a weapon without struggling. But no you pick the girl. Playing the fucking hero, acting to sacrifice yourself for us to win her over and gain a shiny new promotion. Yeah, you're such a hypocrite,"

"Act! You seriously think what happened two years ago was a bloody act? I gave you your chances like everyone else. I let you make the choices, lead your people. I only stepped in because she didn't feel safe following you to certain danger. It turned out her gut instinct was correct. I didn't get your Compound killed, you did."

Frost flinched, he remembered every moment of that fateful night in the Stranded camp. He still had nightmares about the blood on his hands as he tried to save some of them. But he would never allow the Gear, who had proved to him all along that he had been wrong, to see the turmoil it had created inside him.

"My face fucking melted!" He screamed back instead, "Do you know what it's like to have your skin melt from the inside out? To feel the agonising pain as you start inhaling your blood? But having to keep taking that poison that was ripping me apart from the inside out for fear of the infection from spreading."

"I was never responsible for that!" Wilks attempted to defend himself, "I did my job, I got you to Jacinto. What else did you want from me?"

"Yeah that's right, dump me in Jacinto where the doctors knowingly prodded and poked. They knew what was going to happen, but they just stood by and let it. You left me when I needed you the most,"

"I thought you were safe, damnit Frost. Your Lieutenant was meant to protect you. You were his responsibility, not mine,"

Frost paced back and forth, swinging his blade from side to side as if he was battling with the memories.

"Once we left Jacinto it got worse. Leaving that place meant that those monsters weren't even hiding anymore. They started collecting their victims together. People injured during the evacuation, civilians who were too sick to fight back and they tortured us further. They hacked away at us until we couldn't feel pain any longer. They called us a Nightmare of mistakes, so that's what we became. I kept thinking that someone would come for us, save us one last time. But when no one came I knew we had to fight back alone, take down the monsters that had created us and run."

The shock on Wilks' face was evident to see, he opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He had been witness to some horrors in his time in the COG, things his father had endorsed and encouraged, and he had done his best to voice his disapproval. But there were things that even he played a hand in occurring. He had held the IV bag that had pumped into Frost's failing body, read the inscription on the side of its content and had knowingly allowed his treatment to continue. Frost was right. He was responsible for this atrocity. He had been in a position to stop it and instead walked away.

"I'm sorry," the words felt like bile out of his mouth, "I should have been there."

Frost twitched, his jaw ground together as he whirled towards the Gear.

"Save your pity, I don't need it from you,"

"Frost, I..."

"You took her from me, my only reason to survive and you stole her. I grew up with her, protected her, loved her with my very soul, and she tossed me aside like I meant nothing to her. Who the hell are you to step into our lives and destroy it like you did? You're just a soldier, nothing more,"

Wilks scrutinised him for a moment before responding, "I thought you said this wasn't about her."

Frost screamed at him in frustration then charged at him with his Cleaver raised. Wilks, who had expected this response, met him with the chainsaw of his Lancer. Pushing him backwards to keep their distance.

"Stop making excuses for the things you have done. You hate me, I get that. But don't ever presume to know me," Wilks shouted back at him in an attempt to stand his ground.

"You COG are all the same. All twisted and conniving. Turning a blind eye to the atrocities around you. Did you even try to stop it? Angelo, that kid, they had him on the firing line because he was too different because they were scared of him. These are the people you follow!"

"Do you ever stop to listen to yourself?" Wilks interrupted him angrily, "You only know half the story."

Frost's body shuddered at Wilks' defiance, holding back his aggression was harder than he thought possible. He could see the build up of anger surge through Wilks as he took a few determined steps towards him and pointed angrily.

"Don't you _dare_ tar me with the same brush,"

Wilks would never share with Frost the reasons behind his dissolution of the institution that raised him. How could he explain to him that he had picked his people over the COG? Despite everything he had seen this was still the same monster who had mercilessly slain Tate's young family. Frost would never understand the reasoning behind why Wilks took Aidie's hand in marriage and then as a family fled from Port Farrell before anyone knew they were missing. They had thrown away their lives as Coalition soldiers to protect the only people that mattered. He refused to view it as desertion because his family were all that mattered.

"You think you still have the control, don't you? While your pathetic village crumbles and we're ripping apart everything you thought you could protect, you still fucking stand here and play hero,"

"This is my home, and I'll do _anything_ to protect it,"

From the times in their past that Frost and Wilks had clashed the Gear had always done well to stop his temper from fraying. But it was evident that Wilks one step away from letting it all out and the temptation was too much for Frost to resist.

"Not doing too good a job, though, are you. What a failure, standing here once again acting hero as your home is on fire and the lives of those you hold dear in my hands,"

"If you've harmed Miles in any way..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard the threats before, you'll smash in my head. Big words considering I haven't seen any action from you,"

Frost watched Wilks twitch in response. He was holding everything back more than usual. The way he awkwardly held himself as his chest heaved with each breath he took. It all started to click into place. He let out a small chuckle letting it resonate into a loud barking laugh.

"No way, no fucking way!" he bellowed, "He did it didn't he, that little shit infected you! I've seen enough of those freaks to know what it looks like when you're rocking the Lambent hangover from hell. That kid is so fucking predictable. He would have killed you to get to Angelo, you realise, that kid has no loyalty except to that creature. I learnt that the hard way too."

Frost bent over to stifle his laughter.

"Surprised you didn't slash his limbs off for defying you," Wilks commented carefully.

"Oh he did a pretty good job of fucking up his life without me interfering,"

"So you do have a conscience,"

"Not that it would have mattered, there's no coming back now for whatever Angelo has become. That's Lem's cross to bear."

"Those creatures need destroying, they're dangerous and unpredictable, and they won't hesitate to kill you either,"

"Nah, I made a deal with Angelo's creature thing,"

"You think it'll honour that?" Wilks bellowed, "it'll answer only to the Lambency inside it. And that's one thing I know about."

"Yes, and those Lambent freaks answer to me," he swung his blade casually in his direction, "how long have you been fighting it now? How many hours since you left the mansion? Haven't seen many humans last long with it. I've heard the agonising screams from them all as they tried to fight it. All to no avail. And then, when it takes you, you will be mine to control."

"I don't entirely understand what happened for you to turn into this piece of shit," Wilks struggled to maintain his composure, "you were a good kid, with a slightly misguided moral compass. A lot of crap happened to you, and for that, I wish I had done more. But I just don't understand what happened to turn you into the monster that murdered a man's children in front of him."

Frost took a moment to understand what Wilks was implying.

"What?"

"He was my best friend, and you ripped his family apart. You slaughtered his little children in front of him and their mother, and then you tore his manhood from him. Only a monster is capable of such barbaric acts," Wilks balled his fists, the pain of it all still so real.

For the first time, a look of alarm crossed Frost's face as he realised what Wilks was accusing him.

"Wait, that wasn't..."

Freja appeared from the far side of the harbour, and it was enough to silence him instantly. Wilks watched the mercenary's body language as he responded to the woman's approach. He puffed his chest out, the look of concern crinkling into a scowl as he called her name.

"Freja my love!" he called, almost as if for Wilks' benefit.

Freja let out a throaty chuckle as she caught sight of him, dragging her captive towards her and revealing Aidan to them. She was bloodied and beaten, but there was still a stubborn air of defiance held in the way she walked. She slowly lifted her head to catch sight of Wilks, as their gazes fixed for a moment he indicated away encouraging her to follow suit, and she then drew her attention to Frost. She stopped her steps in astonishment.

"Oh god no," she gasped in horror, "Wash?"

Freja urged her forwards, "c'mon."

For a moment Aidie was completely oblivious to the woman trying to take her captive. She took a few steps towards Frost and paused, clasping a hand to her mouth as she took in his horrific sight. He could see tears filling her eyes as she drew closer to him.

"Oh god Frost, what did they do to you?"

Wilks could see there was an emotion rumbling in the depths of Frost's insides as he took in the woman who had broken his heart. He let her approach him closer than he would have allowed anyone.

"The COG did this to me," his tongue lolled slightly out of the side of his cheek as he spoke, his voice softer when he addressed her, "the drug they gave me to cure the infection destroyed me from the inside out. Then, when I turned to them for help they just turned their back on my pleas and experimented on me further. They tortured me, Aide, left me screaming for mercy. They tried to break me."

She shook her head very slightly in denial. Her hands still clasped to her mouth as she tried to fight down the repulsion. She let out a stuttered breath as she dropped her hands from her face.

"You can vomit if you want, most people do when they first see me," he quietly told her.

Deciding on her next movement, she took another step closer to him, the closest they had been in a long time. Their breath hot against their skin. Rising to the tops of her toes she carefully reached out to caress the side of his intact face, feeling him resist the urge to lean into her touch.

Freja bristled visibly behind her.

"Oh Frost," she barely whispered his name searching for a glimpse of the man she once called brother.

"Look at you drawn to horrific monstrosities," Freja seethed loudly forcing Frost out of his trance. He stepped backwards suddenly and pushed her roughly away, hard enough to send her stumbling over Freja's waiting feet.

"Well, at least I know you have a type now," he scoffed, her influence over him now gone.

"You know I never forgot you Wash," she carefully dusted the dirt off her knees, "I left you so you would never have to be tied down, that you would become someone better. I never thought that you'd become this monster."

"The COG turned me into this Aidan, I had no say in it!" he was quick to raise his voice to her now.

"As responsible as the COG is for what happened to you, you turned into this...this thing by yourself," she snapped back, "The COG didn't ask you to murder a man's children in front of him, nor did they tell you to maim him brutally. You did that yourself."

"But I..." Frost began to retort just as Freja lunged aggressively towards Aidie and walloped her hard across the face.

"I've had enough of your shit," she spat at her, grabbing Aidie by the arm and wrenching her backwards, "you keep your mouth shut before I ..."

Aidie whirled round, fingering the Locust dagger holstered on her waist. Eyes flashed dangerously.

"Before you what Freja?" she seethed, "I've had enough of you thinking you can overpower me with your aggression. If you're going to gut me bloody do it, the moment you do, Wilks will rip your head off."

Freja glanced across at Wilks, who had been carefully watching the entire scene between clenched teeth. He gripped hold of his Lancer for fear of letting the tremor get out of hand.

"I wouldn't worry about him," Frost commented from behind them, he had been watching Wilks carefully, "he's infected, he'll be a goner before too long."

"You're wrong, there's a cure," Aidie bravely responded.

"If there were a cure you think there would still be this many freaks around? You think we would have destroyed those things by now,"

"Lem said..."

"Lem lies!" Frost hollered. He strode angrily towards her and tightly grabbed her other arm until she squirmed uncomfortably in his hold, drawing her to his damaged face, "He promised to cure me! I never expected this to be permanent. He _promised_ me he could fix it. It was nothing but false promises and fucking lies to keep him poking and prodding at more humans so he could have that freak job back."

"That's not true," her voice, although filled with fear, remained defiant.

"He injected your fucking Gear to get that freak back. He knew what he was doing from the moment he saw him. That shit will do whatever he wants. He's not the kid you once knew, none of us are."

"And neither am I," she seethed.

At that moment a devastating deluge of agony hit Wilks. He dropped his Lancer and gripped both hands over his head to cover his ears. He let out a yell as his body gave way and he fell to the ground.

"Olly!" Aidie shrieked as she wrestled against Frost and Freja to get to him. They were both so strong, but she was unrelenting, she wriggled and kicked against them.

"Surrender to it!" Frost bellowed out to the fallen Gear as he struggled against her, "Embrace the darkness, hold on to the nightmares in your head and bring it out. It wants to be set free, to be stronger than you are."

"No, Wilks don't listen to him," Aidie cried, her hands grasping Frost's face and pushing him away only to have Freja grip her hair and pull her towards her.

Frost was laughing loudly now as he watched the Sergeant curl into a ball to combat the pain. They could hear him cry out as he tried to fight the transformation inside.

"You're too late Aidan. He's too far gone," his tongue lolled out of the gap in his face in joy, causing her to lean away from him in repulsion, "all this fighting talk and yet he'll still be mine to manipulate."

"You bastard," she spat.

"Put her with the other one," Frost decided, wrapping an arm around Aidie and lifting her off the ground.

"Careful," Freja warned, "she's carrying a precious cargo I plan on keeping."

Frost nearly dropped Aidie in response, "she's what?"

"She'll be providing us with a delightful bundle of joy,"

The look he gave her was enough. The pain in his eyes as he dropped her and turned away, taking a few angry steps before approaching her again. He pointed angrily at her, letting out a few aggressive breaths.

"After everything you said to me," he shrieked, "take her away before I beat her senseless."

Aidie struggled against Freja as she smacked her hard, enough to bring her to the ground. She grabbed her before she attempted another move, now limp in her arms as she dragged her away from her fallen Sergeant.

She tossed her to a heap on the floor beside Miles. Frost following angrily behind them.

"You stay down, or I'll break your legs," He seethed, lifting his hand to wallop her and feeling the rush as she flinched in return, "You pathetic COG think you can even dream of defeating me, well look at you now. This village is my place now."


	24. Chapter 24 - Redemption

**Author's Note-** Firstly you may want to note the new Front Cover of this fic. Wonderfully illustrated by MyFantastiWorld. It's a scene from the first chapter between Wilks and Aidie, and makes me very happy indeed to see my imaginings of these two characters in illustration format. Nothing could make me happier.

On a more important note, here is the penultimate chapter. It is finally coming to an end and here we start the spiral. It took me a long time to get this chapter right as I wanted a different ending, the characters, it seemed rejected my vision, but the moment I started playing with something different the chapter wrote itself. Possibly one of my favourite chapters in all the wrong kinds of ways.

As always I look forward to reading your responses as we go along.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four - Redemption**

* * *

"Lem?" a quiet vaguely recognisable voice sounded from the shadows.

Every part of Lem's brain told him it was a trap, that he should turn and flee. But that familiar voice drew him forwards.

"Lem it's me,"

His heart leapt into his throat at the possibility.

"Gelo?" He approached.

His shoes slipped slightly on something underfoot, glancing down he caught sight of something wet and sticky. Crouching down his fingers touched the puddle, drawing them back to assess it. Blood smeared across his fingertips. He let out a gasp, wiping his hand across his leg.

"Gelo, are you hurt?"

"Are we going home, Lem?" The voice sounded so innocent and scared. It reminded him of the young lad that had clung to him when they had fled their destroyed home, all those years ago.

"Angelo, I'm here,"

He caught sight of a shadowy figure staring out towards the darkness. It moved slightly at his advance as if beckoning him closer. Lem hesitated a moment, wanting nothing more than to join his lifelong friend. But the streets seemed to be eerily silent, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. His fingers gripped around the handle of the Gorgon on his hip as he took a step closer. He could sense movement in the shadows around him, watching every motion he made. Still, he went closer.

"Are you hurt Gelo?" he asked nervously.

As he neared the figure, he could see it was kneeling down, almost in prayer. The darkness surrounded him now as the sound of hushed breathing filled the air around him, a faint hiss in their voices.

"Gelo?"

Moonlight glinted upon the figure revealing a slumped body with his head flopped to one side, and his neck ripped apart. Lem choked down a cry as he stumbled backwards, pulling his Gorgon from the waistband of his jeans and holding it out in protection. He pivoted in a circle desperately trying to pick out where he should aim, panic blurring his vision.

"What the hell is this?" he stammered.

A figure appeared from the rooftop above, leaping down and landing smoothly beside him. It straightened out and revealed itself to him. Imulsion glowed and pulsed from inside, surging through his veins at each pump of his Lambency infected heart. If Lem hadn't already known who to expect, he would never have realised that this was once the boy he had pledged his life.

"Oh shit!"

Angelo's Former gave him a toothy grin, his Lambent insides brightly destroying any hope Lem had of bringing him back. Around him, the Formers appeared from the darkness, blocking all routes of escape.

Angelo hissed as he indicated for his Formers to draw back slightly. They snapped impatiently at him in response.

"Lem," It approached him standing intimidatingly close. From his extensive research Lem had never known his Formers to show any functioning brain activity other than to respond to their bloodlust. Angelo was proving that the Lambency had done something unique to his creation. But then he had always been different.

"D...Don't come any closer Gelo, please," his quaking hands lifted the Gorgon at the Former before him.

"You're scared," it chilled him to the core to hear the voice of the lad he never thought he would hear again. Angelo sounded much older and more confident than he had ever heard before.

"Of course I'm scared, you're trying to kill me,"

"Does it surprise you?" Angelo's Former circled him, his Lambent hands running over his limbs, leaving singe marks each time he touched him. Lem flinched away at the burning sensation.

"Stop!" he yelled, throwing an arm backwards to push Angelo away.

The Formers spat back at his audacity, threatening to lunge angrily at him. A shrill call came from behind them, and the Scientist's daughter emerged, also consumed entirely with Lambency. She approached Angelo and rubbed herself affectionately against him. Their skin seared black with the heat of their contact. She jerked aggressively towards Lem and swung out at him, clawing her talons across his cheek. Lem felt the burn of Imulsion against his skin, resisting the urge to touch the blood now trickling down his face. He could sense that every one of those monsters wanted to rip him apart limb by limb.

"You made us," Angelo told him forcefully.

"I was trying to cure you, Gelo!" Lem couldn't understand why he was so defiant to the creatures that would likely kill him, "Everything I did was for you."

"This is not what I wanted!" Angelo shouted, his entire body ignited in response to his anger. The Imulsion seeped over his warped limbs and twisted him further. His eyes fired fluorescent as the Lambency consumed him until he was able to control his temper. His skin cooled back to a scorched black, and his muscles pulsed their new glow.

Lem watched as his old friend shook himself, flicking Imulsion to his feet around him, creating poisonous puddles.

"I _am_ sorry Gelo, I really am. I thought I could cure you before it got any worse," He responded honestly, "I never thought it would come to this."

"You treated us like animals," Angelo sounded hurt more than angry, standing in front of his collected Formers, "tortured them like their feelings never mattered."

"I would have destroyed the world for you Gelo, don't you understand?" Lem felt tears fill his eyes as he tried to stagger backwards from him, "you were everything to me. I gave up my life for you."

"I didn't ask you,"

A Former behind him grabbed his arm and clamped its teeth into his skin. Lem let out a cry, whirled round and fired at the creature. It flinched away before lunging back to him. He pulled the trigger again until it blasted into ash. The responding Formers surged angrily towards him, but Angelo screeched at them all in warning. They drew back looking to Angelo for permission to respond, but instead his Former gazed back at Lem.

"I can't let you go, Gelo," he sadly called back, "there is no life for me without you."

"You let your friends die for my sake?"

"You are the _only_ one that matters," Lem took a couple of brave steps forwards, "I don't care what form you take. If this is the life you choose, I want to be beside you."

Luicie returned to Angelo's side, her eyes glowing in aggression as she turned angrily at Lem. Angelo nudged her gently in an attempt to calm her, but she seemed determined in her decision. She screeched before charging towards him. Lem stood his ground, clutching his fists to his side in readiness.

A blast from behind threw Luicie backwards. She struggled at the force of the strike before her body submitted and she burst into an entity of ash. The Formers responded instantly. Their Imulsion fuelled insides seething brightly to the danger. Angelo's orders dulled to nothing as rage overcame them and they lurched forward.

Lem felt himself get dragged backwards. He struggled a moment until his vision fixed upon Cam's grim face.

"What are you doing?!" he cried, wrestling himself from Cam's hold.

"I'm saving yer ass," Cam barked as he leant over Lem and fired at an approaching creature.

"I didn't need saving. I was handling it perfectly well,"

"Not from where I was,"

"I need to do this," Lem stubbornly added, "I need to be more than just this coward, I need to be able to save him."

"He's beyond saving, kid," Cam replied, catching a glance at the creature that Lem once called Angelo.

"There's good in him. I know it," Lem twisted around to face the soldier, shuffling his back against the wall. He could feel his emotions start to rise to a head. He had held back the fear for so long, denying himself the right to accept Angelo's fate. But now, he was unsure whether he could maintain the strength any longer. "I can't let him go yet."

"That thing," Cam roared, jumping forward and firing again to keep the monsters away, "it's no longer human. You're gonna have to decide which side yer on because these _things_ have no loyalty."

The ground started to shake below their feet causing a look of fear to flick across Cam's face.

"Not again," he grumbled, "is it too much to ask for one break?"

A crack crisscrossed between them, breaking the paving around them. It forced Cam and Lem backwards again, stumbling over their feet to outrun it. Imulsion bubbled out over the path, splashing over the ground. The Formers started to pulse, their already intense glow now iridescent. Lem could see them change in front of them. Their bone structure twisted within them as the Lambency intensified. They started screeching in agony, clutching at their heads as they tried to resist the entity controlling them.

"They're evolving!" he exclaimed, "getting stronger."

"That's not a good thing,"

Lem peered from behind the wall to watch Angelo's further transformation. Now more Former than human his eyes began to glow as he flung his head back and let out a savage howl.

"M...Maybe I can make him see sense," Lem stammered, "help him realise that this is not the way. If they are evolving, we could peacefully find a solution,"

"Whatever _that_ is, it has no interest in peace," Cam used the opportunity to pull Lem further away from the newly evolving creatures. As Lem struggled against him, the soldier pinned him up against the wall to face him, "what are yer trying to prove here?"

Lem gave the old soldier a look of desperation. Despite everything he had done Cam had returned to protect him, regardless of whether it was for an ulterior motive, it had been a long time since Lem had someone looking out for him.

"I created this," he responded sadly, "I'm responsible for those monsters. I need to make this right."

"Kid, this isn't the way,"

"I don't see another answer," Lem struggled from his grip, "I would die for him."

"Whoever yer friend once was, he's no longer there now,"

"I have to try," the youngster was defiant.

He had spent such a long time proving to others that Angelo could overcome Lambency, the aggression he had shown was just his way of dealing with his internal fight. He had been in denial for so long it had become his instinctive response. He didn't even know what acceptance was meant to resemble.

"I would die for him. He is all I have left,"

Cam dropped his hand from him, taking a hesitant step backwards, as a look of realisation dawned on him. After everything that had happened between them, he and Lem weren't so different.

"And what if yer fail?" he asked quietly.

"I would have died trying," He took a step away from Cam's protection and glanced momentarily back at him. The Gear silently watched him as he entered the circle of the unknown.

* * *

Angelo had finally gained restraint of his mutation by the time Lem had started to approach. He felt a twitch inside him urging him to lash out, but he held it back. The Formers around him were struggling to fight against the monstrosity that controlled them. But he knew they weren't able to keep the beast at bay. It wouldn't be long before Lem would be their next victim.

"Keep back," he hollered to him, but his voice just growled out a snarling roar in response.

"Angelo please," Lem called out, ignoring the threat that surrounded him.

"Lem!" Angelo staggered forwards, snapping at his advancing Formers, "keep back Lem. They'll kill you."

Lem stopped a moment, staring back at him as he tried to understand what was happening.

"You're evolving Angelo, do you understand,"

As Angelo opened his mouth to respond nothing but hissing whispers left him, it was then that he realised there was no going back. Yet here stood the one person that linked it all. He recalled an intense feeling for him, one that drew him to his childhood. An emotion he thought he had lost. He needed to protect this human.

The Formers, now completely dominated by Lambency, surged towards Lem. Angelo charged to meet them, his aggression matching their own as he sliced and mauled anything that came close to the one human that meant something. He could feel the fury build inside him each time he ripped apart another one of his people, the Imulsion absorbing further into his system until it started to control him. For each swipe he made he felt himself give into the parasite, allowing it to dictate his next move. Rage coursed through him for each Former that injured him, he lunged at their necks and ripped out their insides. The creature had emerged anew.

"Angelo stop!"

He heard a voice that drew him to a staggered standstill. His bloodied vision fixed upon Lem. He took a couple of steps forwards just as a flash of memories struck inside. He kept seeing the human torturing the Formers, the family he had slaughtered to protect this abomination. At the same time, another mix of conflicting memories surged through him. The look of the kid who had once taken his hand as he trembled beneath his parents' tattered bodies. The only person who had shown him compassion.

He let out a scream as the Lambency fought him to submit, blinkering back any memories he could hold.

He felt Lem's hand touch his shoulder as he rushed to him in concern.

"Angelo, I'm here," he breathed, "it's okay."

Angelo fixed upon Lem's face, his brain clinging to the last remnant of his humanity as he felt his body rebel. He slashed out, his sharp claws churning through Lem's unprotected chest. He felt his talons dig into the soft tissue of his neck, ripping it wide open. Arterial spray spurted outwards into his face, just making him angrier. Lem struggled against him, but it was a battle he was going to lose. His bloodied fingers slipped and fumbled as he coughed up blood, flopping backwards.

Angelo felt the mist clear as he caught Lem's limp body.

"Lem?" He cried, almost unaware that he had caused so much destruction.

Lem's glazed eyes fixed upon him for a final time as he weakly lifted the Gorgon to Angelo's head and pulled the trigger. The Former burst into a smoke of bloodied ash that rained down upon the one person who had given his life to save him.

* * *

Lem choked again on the blood that seeped from him. He lifelessly watched as Cam raced towards him, staring back in horror at the torn mass that remained.

"Oh shit!" he bellowed, dropping to his knees to assess the first point of action and realised there was no way he could mend the mess before him.

Lem half-heartedly knocked Cam's arm with his own, opening his palm to reveal a small vial. The Gear let out a breath as he registered what he had offered him. He gently picked it up and slid it into his pouch. He leant over and placed a hand over Lem's chest.

"It's okay, just relax and let it take you," Cam's gruff voice soothed him, "don't be afraid."

Cam could see panic fill Lem's vision as he tried to fight the drowning sensation. He swallowed back the emotion as he carefully placed his hands over Lem's eyes. It broke his heart to feel Lem suffer under him. Every attempted breath a struggle as he gurgled blood into his lungs. All Cam could do was soothe him with kindness the kid had never experienced.

"Try to sleep,"

He picked the Gorgon from the floor and held it to his head.

"Shhh it's okay,"

And he pulled the trigger.


	25. 25 - The Last Stand of Sergeant Wilks

**Author's Note -** So this is it folks, our final chapter in this adventure. It has been a joy to write this both for myself and for you. Sharing my writing with the world was the reason I chose to start publishing my fanfics and even though you have been quiet I know you're reading and I hope you're enjoying it because it means I have achieved something meaningful.

I am considering writing a story that follows along the timeline with Gears 4, currently playing with ideas. So if you enjoy what you read, please follow me to see what abominations I create in the future.

As with the ending to all my stories I do feel a vast amount of sadness, letting go of the characters that have shaped my life for the best part of six years is hard to fathom. I hope that you have grown as fond of them as I have.

So here it is, chapter twenty-five for your reading pleasure.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five - The Last Stand of Sergeant Ollyvar Wilks**

* * *

Frost grabbed hold of Wilks by his collar and dragged him to a heap beside his guarding Nightmares. Wilks looked pathetically back at his captor using as much energy as he could muster to sit up.

"Please," he begged, "don't hurt her. If you have any care for the feelings you once had for her, you'll honour my last wishes."

"Always the fucking hero," Frost muttered, "aren't you sick of constantly trying to be this perfect person."

"I thought you'd have realised by now it's all for her,"

Frost snorted as his attention drew to another stalk bursting through the ground not too far from them. He watched cautiously as the bulging pods pulsed momentarily before spewing a screeching Lambent creature onto the ground. More followed suit.

"I'm assuming you don't have any control of those," Wilks commented quietly behind him.

The Leader growled a moment, debating on sending the Gear after the new threat. Freja gently touched his arm searching for any sight of the Formers to assist them, noticing that they were conveniently absent. Frost let out a snort and made his decision. Striding over to where he kept his hostages and poked Miles in the leg with his cleaver. Miles gave him a hooded glare in response.

"I have some pest control issues, deal with it,"

"If it's so much of an issue why don't you send your cronies to deal with it. You have enough of them,"

Frost twitched at Miles' defiance. His fingers gripped the handle of his Cleaver, and he felt himself lift the weapon ready to strike him. Aidie positioned herself between them both offering out her bound hands to him.

"Stop," she bullishly demanded, "no more killing. Tell me what you want, and I'll deal with it."

Miles reached forward to place a hand on her shoulder, "You aren't going alone Aidie, I won't allow it."

"So two willing victims," Frost sheathed his Cleaver and hoisted Aidie to her feet with her bindings. She then assisted Miles, so he stood protectively beside her, his broken arm held to his chest. Thaw, who had been standing watch, handed over the Gears' weapons to his Leader. Frost frowned at the pathetic guns, "pistols? Seriously?"

"I've handled worse," Miles commented as he snatched his Snub from him and strode away.

Aidan hesitantly offered her wrists to Frost to free. He drew her close to him, close enough for her to feel his hot breath on her face. She grimaced and attempted to pull away. As he slowly sliced away at the ties that bound her, his vision fixed on the ring attached to her tags around her neck.

"I would have waited, you know," he quietly told her, out of earshot of his people, "what I felt for you. I would have waited forever. I would never have pressured you."

"I made my choice two years ago," she responded, pulling her hands from her binds and snatching the Boltok from him, "and I'll stand by that decision."

"What if he dies," he called wistfully to her as she left him.

She paused a moment and glanced back. It surprised him how little he recognised of the woman that answered, "then I'll do it alone."

She let out a heavy sigh before turning and making her way to join Miles. They both glanced across at Wilks slumped against the wall as they marched towards the incoming Lambent.

"You okay?" Miles asked her, gently placing a hand on her arm.

She shook her head, "No Miles, just look at him."

"I know," Miles refused to look at his Sergeant again for fear of letting the sight get to him, "but he's fighting it."

"For how long?"

"For as long as we keep the fight going here,"

They watched the approaching Lambent stagger towards them then exchanged looks with one another.

"For Wilks,"

* * *

Cam rounded the harbour cautiously, taking in the Nightmares that surrounded it. The soldier in him told him to bide his time and fight his way to Wilks. But the father inside him told him to get to the fallen Gear and save his life no matter the consequences. He dropped to a crouch and pulled the vial out of his pocket, gently tilting it back and forth between his fingers. He dug around his medical bag for the needle, pulling off the protective cover from the end. He angled the tube upwards and drew the liquid into the syringe, watching the faintly glowing liquid swirl into it. Satisfied that the cure was ready for delivery, he kept it in his hand.

Making his decision, he made his move towards the harbour. The Leader caught sight of him instantly and hollered at him in warning.

"Come any closer, and I'll kill you,"

Cam deafened himself to his aggressor's threats. His mind focussing on the one thing that mattered. He sprinted forward, lashing out at the Nightmares that dared to stop him. He lifted his Boltok and fired. His peripheral vision picked out Miles and Aidie holding back a wave of Polyps over the far side of the harbour. His attention now fixed in on Wilks, propped limply against a wall.

He dropped beside him, quickly taking stock of his vitals. He gently tapped the Sergeant's cheek while he pressed one finger against his neck in search of a pulse.

"Hey kid, you with me?" he asked, watching as Wilks blinked and hazily fixed him with his unbandaged eye.

He hoisted Wilks onto his lap and counted finger widths along his neck before jabbing the needle quickly and delivering the serum into his system.

The result was instant, as Wilks went rigid, his body convulsed against this new intrusion. He dug his fingernails into the earth as he fought the agonising pain that surged through him. His entire body started to burn up, and now every part of him was drowning from the inside out. He spewed up bile in response to the poisonous cocktail of drugs and Lambency in his system. His scars were searing with the heat inside him. Fighting the urge to tear at his face, he clenched his fists into balls to resist the need to claw at himself. He let out an involuntary cry as he dropped fully to the ground.

He began to fit, his muscles spasming against the war inside him. He choked on his vomit as he tried to gasp for air between surges of sickness, his body purging the Lambency from him in any way possible.

A hand thumped him heavily on his back as he felt himself get positioned on his side.

"That's it," Cam's soothing voice remained beside him, "cough it up, kid."

His body threw up everything left inside him until all that remained was a retching, shivering human. He felt himself grow weak, collapsing face first into the dirt and feeling an immense desire to sleep.

"Don't give up," Cam encouraged him, rubbing a fatherly hand over his back in reassurance, "this is the hardest part, you knew that."

"I can't Cam," Wilks slurred.

"Look," he pointed to the rest of their squad, "they're doing this for you. They fight for you."

Wilks' blurry vision gazed over to catch a glimpse at Aidie and Miles, Lambent surrounded them, charging and snapping at their last defence. Aidie calculated her shots with the Boltok as she and Miles counted bullets between them. The ground that separated them from him seemed a million miles away as a group of Formers began to charge at them. Aidie twisted to cast a glance back at him. Every part of her now the Gear he had trained.

"Son," Cam's gruff voice drawing him back, "I can't lose you. You are all I have in this world. Please, fight this for me."

His fingers ran gently through the dark hair of the boy he had loved as his own. A faint moan sounded from deep within him in response.

"Cam?" Wilks felt his dry, cracked lips attempt a word.

"I'm here,"

The sound of heavy boots thundering over the path towards him drew Cam's attention. He lifted his head from Wilks to investigate, just as Frost's Cleaver swung cleanly across his throat. His skull severed instantly from his body and was thrown a short distance away.

"Cam!" Aidie screamed as she and Miles witnessed the sight, powerless to help.

"No!" Miles' breath stuck in his throat. He tried to stagger forwards but felt his feet stumble over themselves. He felt a wave of nausea overcome him as he clasped a hand over his mouth in horror.

"M...Mi...Miles?" Aidie dropped to her knees beside him, grabbing hold of his arm to keep her balance. She couldn't stop staring at the look on Cam's severed head as its terrified eyes gazed back at her.

Miles took her into his arms and twisted away from the scene.

"Don't look, Aidie, please don't look,"

She struggled with him until he wrenched her down into cover.

"Oh God Miles," she panted, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Cam."

Miles ground his teeth as he tried to fight back the rising emotion, his voice failing to answer her. For once in his life, he was at a loss as to how he could respond to the monster that was tearing his family apart.

* * *

Wilks' unconscious body shuddered as he coughed into the dirt, groggily feeling himself coming round. He weakly attempted to prise the bandage from his eye as his vision blurred into focus. He slowly tried to prop himself up, letting out a grunt as his aching body fought against his wishes. His elbows gave way, and he thumped awkwardly back to the ground. He took a few minutes to gather his strength again, blinking the dust from his eyes until he could see. He flexed his stiff fingers, toying with the grit between them until he felt strong enough to bear weight. He huffed heavily as he partially hoisted himself upwards. He rubbed at his eyes as he tried to fix on something to assist him. Then, as he caught a blurry look at the bloody splatters around him, he felt a wobble of fear in the pit of his belly.

His strength allowed him to partially crawl towards something his mind screamed him to stop doing. Subconsciously, he knew that whatever he was going to find was going to kill him inside. He reached out and gently turned the object to face him, only to find a lifeless pair of eyes gaze back at him. He recoiled in horror, shuffling backwards away in the dirt.

A humourless chortle sounded behind him. Wilks twisted as Frost dragged the headless body and dropped it to the Gear's feet.

"Yeah, this one was my bad," he commented with a smirk across his face, "I did warn him not to come closer, but he only ignored me."

"You..." even words were a struggle as Wilks fought the overwhelming desire to give into it all, "bastard."

"Not up to fighting talk? Well that's one way to shut you up,"

"What... did he ever do to you?" Strength started to build inside the Sergeant as he weakly drew himself up on unsteady legs.

"I told you I'd see you suffer before you accept your inevitable fate,"

A haze of movement behind Wilks caused the Gear to whisk unsteadily round and grab the unsuspecting Nightmare by the throat. He drew Freja's slender feminine frame close to him, a simmering rage bubbling up inside him.

"It's almost too easy," he grumbled, as he gave Frost a purposeful look.

Freja struggled in his hold, desperately trying to get to the weapon on her back. He tightened his grip around her neck until he could hear her strangle a choke back. He gave her an emotionless look as she scrabbled against him. He pulled her closer to speak into her ear, his low, gravelly voice sending shivers down her spine.

"You threaten the life of my wife and child again, and I will kill you," he released her suddenly, letting her drop to the ground with a thud.

She gasped and coughed as she scrabbled away from him into Frost's protective arms. Every part of the Leader twitched in anger. He tightly gripped the handle of his Cleaver, his fists going white the tighter he clenched. He then released Freja and charged towards Wilks, letting out a scream of a roar as he ran. Wilks easily dodged the swipe, grabbing hold of Frost's wrist and twisting it until he dropped the monstrous blade from his hand. The Gear leant into him, close enough for the pair to take in their scars and blemishes.

"Stop acting like a kid and start behaving like a man. Put your fucking blade down and punish me like you always wanted,"

"Gladly," Frost spat back and wrestled himself away. He stretched his fists and cracked his knuckles in readiness.

* * *

Adam Fenix's Lambent Countermeasure device blasted across the planet. The rippling blue wave surged through every crevice and living being on Sera. Each creature born through Imulsion stopped in their steps as the parasite within them burst apart. The Locust dropped to the ground as the entity that had fuelled their aggression crystallised inside them. The Lambent stumbled forwards, Imulsion pouring from their innards as they screamed in agony.

The stalks began to wither, the substance that had once made them so indestructible now destroying them. The Polyps screeched and skittered, the glowing liquid inside them dripping from every orifice.

Archer and his band of guards stopped their battle with the advancing creatures to watch them expire before them. The men looked to Archer for an answer, and he shook his head in response.

"Clear down men," he ordered, "let's wipe these bastards out and get to the harbour."

* * *

As the blue wave pulsed through each human, the responding reaction differed from them. Aidan and Miles felt a tingling sensation tickle through them. The Nightmares, still infected with the Lambency began to grow erratic and violent as their human bodies fought to stay alive. Wilks and Frost felt the aggression catch them like a virus, switching off their emotional human side to concentrate on the only thing that mattered to them.

* * *

Frost snarled as he swung at Wilks, his fist catching the soldier's shoulder and painfully impacted upon his armour. He hardly had enough time to right himself when Wilks' fist met him again and again with a force he had never experienced from any human. He swerved backwards to allow himself a breath, finally taking in the heavily panting Gear.

"I warned you, touch my family, and I would fucking kill you," there was murder in Wilks' eyes, the humanity that made him into the person he was no longer a part of him. Instead, a COG trained killer remained.

Wilks stepped temptingly close inciting Frost to throw the next punch. Swerving as his fist threw out at him and then caught him on the side. The Gear lunged forwards, unafraid of the closeness of their contact and smashed him angrily in the chin, watching as blood and teeth forced from the gaping hole in Frost's cheek. The Leader snarled, spitting out blood and a remaining chunk of tooth, and caught him quickly, returning the favour as his fists thundered against the Gear's eye socket. Wilks staggered back, shaking off the dizzying impact. Several Nightmares took their cue from Freja and lunged at him from behind, pulling him to the ground as they punched and kicked him. Freja lead the beating. The Gear balled himself tightly to protect what mattered as he timed his next response. He grabbed one mercenary by the leg and sunk his teeth heavily into his ankle. The Nightmare let out a scream, thrashing out his foot in response just as Wilks dragged him to the ground. He threw punch after punch until his attackers drew back, those who had remained were left strewn on the ground twitching and moaning, coughing up their blood.

He turned to Frost, who had watched the altercation in amusement and snarled.

"You're a coward Frost," he growled, shaking off the bloody drips from his face, "sending your fucking men to do a job you couldn't complete."

"I can complete it just fine,"

He then lunged at him, overwhelming the soldier with a series of punches, forcing him backwards as he tried to block each shot. Wilks took a minute to build his momentum, catching Frost's fist as it went for his throat. He spat in his face and retreated away from him, blood blurring his vision. He wiped a hand over his face to flick the bloody sweat from him then lunged back at Frost.

* * *

"You need to go to him!" Miles told Aidie as they held their position behind cover, a few of the Nightmares now targeting them.

"Why me?" she asked, firing at the attacking humans.

"Because it has always been you," he said, "you are the only one who can end this and bring him back to us."

She glanced back at the raging monster that had unleashed in Wilks. She barely recognised him anymore.

"What if I can't?"

"Then we're all going down," they shared a look, fear and sadness combined, "I'd do it, but I know it'll only work with you."

Eventually, she nodded, swallowing down the sickening dread that was rising within her. She worked out her path to Wilks and drew out the pistol from its holster, loading in her last bullets.

"Cover me, Miles," she sent him a worried smile, "and if this goes wrong, get the hell out of here."

She leapt over cover before he could respond and charged towards her next spot. Slamming herself against a wall, she glanced back at Miles who followed her every step. She lunged forward to her next target, rolling between cover until she reached safety. She could hear the aggression pouring out of Wilks now as he grabbed hold of an attacking Nightmare by the throat and crushed his larynx. It was now or never.

 _I need to be brave._

She forced herself towards him. She had never been as afraid of him as she had at that moment. Everything they had been through together, all the emotion and pain they had shared. She had never questioned his feelings for her because she knew he would never hurt her. But now, Aidan didn't even know if this was the same man. But she had to try.

She watched as he dropped the dead mercenary to the ground. His bloodied fists swung out for his next target as she charged towards him. She reached out for his hand to stop him, using all her strength to keep him back. She pressed herself close to his chest, placing her free hand over his heart. It took everything inside her to not flinch from the bloodied soldier, searching his face for any glimpse of the man she loved.

"Ollyvar," she cried out to him.

At her voice she felt a part of him change slightly, his irrational madness edging back.

"You can beat this. You're better than this. Find that humanity that I know is within you."

She reached a gentle hand up to his cheek, her fingers running down his scar to the stubble of his beard.

"Come back to me Wilks,"

His dark, savage eyes blinked a moment before setting themselves on her worried face. She watched as the storms within him started to disperse. His hands grasped desperately towards her as she quivered in his powerful embrace and he exhaled heavily. She felt him shudder at her touch as if little by little his aggression slowly seeped into nothingness.

"Aidan," he breathed as the fog finally cleared and he fixed his gaze upon her, "oh my god. I could have killed you."

"Olly?" a tear escaped down her cheek as she reached up to touch him, "are you back?"

He closed his eyes and leant into her arms. Exhaustion marred his weary face.

"For you, I am."

She slipped one hand to her hip to retrieve her Boltok, gently sliding it up towards his hands.

"For Cam,"

He nodded, his hands cupping over hers, "for our family."

Frost cackled maniacally at the scene, rage still coursing through his system.

"What the fuck man! You're such a fucking pussy. Look at you, bending at will to that fucking whore. I've beaten you, you're mine, and you're a fucking bitch."

"The thing is, where you and I differ, you think you don't need people to survive," Wilks twisted finally to face him. Keeping Aidie firmly behind his back in protection, "Whereas I know the reason I'm alive is because of them. My family is my strength and the only reason I carry on."

"You're a joke, and I will be stamping on your fucking balls and raping your fucking whore," Frost screamed, trying his hardest to incite the Gear.

"Wrong,"

Wilks lifted the Boltok and fired throwing Frost backwards at the force. He approached him as he clutched at his chest in disbelief, blood blossoming around the bullet wound.

"You fu..."

"We will not bend to you,"

Wilks fired point blank at Frost's head, his shattered face wobbled slightly as his body gave way and crumpled under him.

* * *

The countermeasure waves continued to ripple across the planet again and again like a sea of destruction. Eradicating any signs of Lambency that dared defy it.

* * *

Archer and his men surged into the harbour, taking any remaining Nightmares prisoners. Thaw assessed the situation, dropping to his knees and raising his hands in submission, allowing the anger inside him to evaporate each time the wave churned through him. One by one the Nightmares gave into their human selves as the Stranded chained them up.

Freja struggled angrily in Archer's hold, screeching and screaming to anyone who could hear her.

"I was framed!" She cried out, "they forced me to do it. I was scared for my life."

Archer's face twitched as he tried to hold in the anguish he felt, he thrust her heavily against the wall.

"I saw the state you left my men. I saw the remains of the burning house where my leader once lived. Everyone who witnessed the fire saw a tall blonde woman leaving the scene. You murdered my leader, and killed my sister,"

She readied herself for him, enticing him to hurt her in ways that only she enjoyed.

"Yes," she hissed, "and I lusted through every moment of it. Your people are pathetic. I'm a killer, and I'll keep killing."

Archer took a moment to think as he glanced around at the way the men looked at him as their next natural leader. The way Aidie and Miles, now assisting one another to a stand watched him for his response. Then finally he saw Wilks, the exhausted Gear who had proved more than enough his worthiness within the village. It was now his decision to be the responsible leader who made the right choices that Burn could not.

"Get out," he told her dangerously, "get out of our home and never come back."

She looked back at him, trying to comprehend his mercy and not allowing herself to see further than her anger. He released her from his grip and pointed in the direction through the streets. She took a few unsteady steps away from him, looking panicked as she took in her people, on their knees overlooking the water ready to be sentenced to a life of servitude. The Stranded watched her go, but as she skulked past Aidie, she felt herself grip hold of her knife and slid it from her sheath ready to make her final swansong. Just as a bullet pierced through her brain and she collapsed to the ground.

The astonished group turned to find Wilks holding out the Boltok with his teeth clenched.

"I warned her," he growled as he dropped the pistol to the ground.

A final blast of wave hit them.

Wilks stopped a moment, sensing that something wasn't right. The small ounce of Lambency that remained within him crystallised inside his heart sending his system into shutdown. His heart jerked in response, and his body spasmed, snapping his lungs shut. He let out a struggled gasp and clasped a hand to his chest.

Aidie, who had been assisting Miles, turned to the sound of Wilks' struggled breathing.

"Wilks?" she asked, concern lacing her voice and heading towards him.

"Aidie," he wheezed as he felt his body go into failure.

He realised there was no point in fighting anymore, glancing across at Aidie in reluctant acceptance. The one woman who had brought meaning to his life, she was safe, that was all that mattered now. His body collapsed to the ground. He could hear her screaming his name as she and Miles sprinted towards him.

Aidie was at his side in seconds, ever loyal to him. It broke his heart that he would be leaving her after everything they had been through. She had kept him going when he had lost himself. His vision momentarily flickered as she placed a hand on his neck to feel his pulse then on his cheek.

"OIlyvar please," she begged, "no don't leave us. Not now."

He fixed upon her face for one last time, her ice blue eyes filled with fear as tears spilled down her cheek. He could barely feel her hands upon him now. Unaware of Miles frantically ripping his armour off as Archer descended upon him to commence resuscitation. He blissfully drifted as Miles staggered backwards, his hand clasped to his face in grief, unable to hold back the tears as he cried out in sorrow.

"Olly no!"

In the chaos of desperation around him, he felt only peace. He weakly grasped out for Aidie.

"I'm sorry," he sighed to her with his final breath as he descended alone into the darkness.


	26. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

 _"I can't believe it's been a year since the events that destroyed this village, a year from when we were torn apart. A year since we lost you,"_

A fresh lifting sea breeze teased its way through the village bringing with it the reminder of new life as seagulls glided along the air current, squeeing in delight. Horns sounded from the newly rebuilt harbour to signify the arrival of the fishing fleet as the vessels moored themselves along the dock. Fishermen lined up and swung their catches to their waiting crew, the pungent aroma of fish filled the air. Men and women chatted loudly to one another as they sorted the goods ready to pass onto the traders and their eagerly waiting customers. Children squealed as they darted and dashed between the bustle of people, screaming in laughter as they chased each other through the streets.

 _"We had to rebuild from the ground up. The village was nothing but ashes, and our souls were exhausted. But that's one thing I have to say about humankind; we keep finding a way to survive,"_

Archer and Miles stood outside, pondering over a table of blueprints as they deliberated their next plans. A year since the events of the final battle for Sera had left Archer with a huge hill to climb as the newly anointed Leader. But Miles had taken a firm position by his side as his second in command, and together they helped give new life to a destroyed village. Now they stood debating the need for supplies so they could develop and expand the hospital. Miles let out a thoughtful noise as he gazed back at the building they had planned to work their magic.

 _"The war brought out the best, and the worst of people. Those that remain are left broken by the events that I didn't think anyone would fully recover. It takes a strong leader to help pull your people forward from that rut."_

Archer's Great Niece chortled a hearty belly laugh from the rug beside them as she tottered unsteadily towards her three adoptive mothers to the sound of their cheers. Archer paused a moment to watch the little life now left in his hands and the responsibility that came with it. So many people looked to him for answers and protection. It left him wondering how he was going to juggle it all. He glanced across at Miles who had joined the young child's captive audience with a grin across his face. They all knew that after everything that child had gone through she deserved the best upbringing in her life. Archer made his way towards her and opened his arms out to her. She let out a squeak of joy and toddled towards him, he caught her and swung her around. After all the pain he had suffered he had grown to realise that he needed her as much as she needed him.

 _"There is new life, however, children who can put the monsters behind them and start looking forward to a future. Small humans we can mould to be better than us, so they would never make the same mistakes we made."_

Considering the fatalities that had struck the village that fateful day the population had now steadily started to grow. The imprisoned Nightmares had either accepted a sentence of confinement or a death penalty. Most had thrown their middle finger at the chance of a new life. Thaw, however, had admitted his guilt and was willing to spend the rest of his life righting the wrongs his leaders had left in their wake. The village had been reluctant to accept him at first, but he was repentant and understanding in their pain. He wasn't going to rush a process that could take some time.

The village had become a welcoming refuge to all, finally stepping away from Burn's strict ruling, Archer's legacy was already making a name for itself. Travellers were drawn to the fish trade and the secure walls that protected the inhabitants. Many people opted to stay, bringing with them new skills to help develop the village further.

 _"We are all in this together, after all. We need each other if we stand a chance in overcoming extinction,"_

Outside the infirmary, as Miles watched them carefully, Sofie pushed a stroller with her only treasured child swaddled inside. Beside her, Tate guided himself forwards with a walking frame as his nurse stood patiently in front of him, ready to catch him in case he lost his balance. The baby made a yowl from the stroller and Sofie reached in to attend to her, unfolding her from her blankets to hold her close. Tate stopped to take his family in, his heart swollen with pride as Sofie nuzzled the tiny human with a tuft of chestnut hair. He glanced down at his hands as he tried to grip the frame with the stumps of his fingers. A newfound determination pushed him forward. He was going to do everything in his power to make his family proud of him.

 _"Those of us who are battle worn have faced an uphill struggle. We are lucky that we have such a strong family around us to keep us going. I fear without them the darkness would have sucked us in a long time ago,"_

It had taken Tate a while to accept his rehabilitation, despite Sofie's gentle pleading. He didn't want to admit that they could never reverse what had happened to him. It took a physical therapist to move to the village and express an interest in guiding him to recovery before he even considered leaving his bed. Together he helped him adapt to his disabilities and use them to his strengths. He had developed vastly since his first day on his feet, and now he pushed himself forward so he could hold his baby daughter for the first time.

 _"My family are fighters. That's for certain,"_

Aidie pulled the door closed to her home, much larger these days to accommodate the children who now lived with her. A gurgle from the papoose on her back caused her to twist and ruffle the dark curls of her small daughter that nestled into her. Curled beside, her twin brother clutched at her fingers in comfort. Their dark features and ebony hair the epitome of their father. Aidie shook out her shawl and threw it over her shoulders to half cover the babies. The three brothers sprinted around her as they chased one another in their next game of imagination filled thrills. She followed them quietly through the street, stopping at Miles as the boys flung themselves at him in an embrace. He always took time out to fuss over the Wilks family. The babies had a particular place in his heart these days. Although he had never been tempted to settle down himself, he surrounded himself with his honorary children instead.

 _"I'm always surprised at how quickly people move on. I feel like I'm stuck firmly in yesterday reliving the moment you were ripped from me. There isn't a moment where we don't miss you, even though it looks like we may have forgotten. Your loss was something I struggle to overcome. I don't think I'll ever get over it,"_

The eldest of the Wilks brothers, apparently bored with the adult conversation, rushed over and grabbed Aidie by the hand, pulling her away towards the tantalising scents of the harbour. His two younger brothers scampered alongside him in excitement. She smiled at their mirth as they greeted every vendor with enthusiasm at their goods, tugging on her sleeve to encourage her to barter. The boys took their goodies and sprinted to their favourite picnic spot overlooking the harbour where they shared everything between themselves. Aidie sat and watched them as she nursed the twins, cradling one as the other rolled around on her back cooing playfully at her youngest uncle. Aidie let the wind breeze through her blonde curls, rippling through her like a hand stroking her lovingly. She closed her eyes and let out a slight sigh.

 _"I had never factored having a family into my future, but here I am with five kids. I'm starting to feel my age already. The boys are typical boys, all competing with one another and totally oblivious to any impossibilities. And then there's the twins..."_

As a chill started to fill the air, she wrapped the twins back into their papoose, greeted by their complaints. For such young humans, they certainly had very distinct personalities already. The eldest of the two, her plucky daughter, who had challenged her mother every step of the way, had a fiery soul not too dissimilar from her parents. Her son was more content in comparison, he took everything in his stride. He had never seemed to be in much of a rush to do anything.

 _"Aliana and Jaime Wilks arrived one stormy night. There were certainly a few worrying months as one was in a hurry to enter this world and the other not so much, but they are fighters. Runs in the family I guess."_

Aidie continued her walk through the village up to the lonesome cemetery overlooking the life that surrounded them. The boys diverted over to a large tree and commenced their climbing, teasing one another as the eldest raced his younger siblings to the higher branches. She softly padded through the rows and rows of newly etched headstones, positioned to commemorate those who had fallen in Sera's final battle. A shiver shuddered down her spine, forcing her to pull her shawl closer around her shoulders and wrapped her arms around herself. She looked around and picked out the regularly visited gravestones, bunches of flowers laid on most, beside names of villagers. People she had seen torn apart in front of her, people she had loved, her family.

 _"I wish you were here to meet them. You saved my life; you saved our lives, and I will be forever indebted to you."_

She dropped to her knees beside one particular grave, leaning forward to place a hand on it and utter a silent prayer. Her fingers traced along the wording on the headstone, as if touch alone would bring her closer to contact with the dead. Eventually, she rose to her feet, tears in her eyes, wiping them away with her palm, she let out a heavy breath.

 _"There are times that I have contemplated walking away from this chance of a happy ending. I feel like I don't deserve it. The grief I feel from losing you, is there ever a way back to normality from here?"_

She wearily pulled herself to her feet, her snoozing children on her back grumbled to one another at the awkward jolting. Dusk was starting to settle over the village as a soft purple haze coloured the sky. She turned and continued up the incline till she reached the peak and looked back to gaze down at her village, her home.

 _"I know I'm foolish to think that you can even hear me, you're gone like so many people. Sera is saved, leaving us thanking the invisible gods, demigods, whoever we turned to when the world needed it."_

A hand linked into the crook of her arm. She blinked, and half turned her head as a gentle smile spread across her lips.

 _"I don't need a god to thank for saving my life, I needed you. You gave me my life back, you gave me a future."_

She leant her head against her companion and let out a heavy breath.

 _"She gave me a reason to survive,"_

Her companion reached across and teased a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked up, reaching a hand lovingly to stroke against their cheek. His scars would be a forever reminder of his past, slashing down one side of his face. One eye now partially hazy white gazed blindly at her as the other dark iris fixed intently upon her. She loved this man dearly and didn't want to think how close she had gotten to losing him.

 _"Whenever I think of walking away I think of her and everything she did for me,"_

As if sensing the moment her daughter let out a bleat of a cry, her tiny arms fighting her swaddling to reach out to her father. He dug into the papoose and plucked her out into his arms, drawing her into his chest as he stroked her dark curls. He whispered quietly to her until she settled into him. Aliana would forever be her father's little girl.

 _"There is nothing I won't do for her, for them,"_

Aidie watched him thoughtfully marvelling at the man she proudly called her husband. He had suffered for a long time battling the demons inside his head, and the survivor's guilt that had nearly cost him his life. It had taken the twins arrival for Ollyvar Wilks to realise that he needed to keep going for the sake of the tiny humans that depended upon him. And when he felt the darkness start to suck him down again his family were intuitively by his side ready to pull him back.

As they made to walk back down the cemetery to the boys, Aidie held back a moment to stop and honour the final gravestone, overlooking the village like he would have wanted. The place where Wilks went when he needed answers, but the silence served as a response enough. She nodded as a thank you as she smiled sadly at the inscription; _'Cameron Jaime Ceorl'_.

They plodded slowly down the pathway, Wilks carefully holding his daughter to his chest as she lovingly gazed back him. Her dark eyes just like her father. Aidie linked an arm with him as they stopped to take in the brothers playing in the tree.

Ollyver took a moment to admire his family, his half brothers who had needed his protection from the COG. His wife who had remained steadfast beside him no matter what and his children who had brought him back from oblivion. He was a survivor because of their strength.

He glanced back at Aidie, placing a hand under her chin to bring her attention to him. Her expression softened as her eyes met his and she sent him a quirky smile as he leant down to kiss her gently.

"What's next?" she asked him with a knowing look. His half siblings sprinted past them, the youngest stumbled behind all chubby legged and laughing.

So many memories of the past swirled and ebbed between them, both good and bad. How do you respond when you don't know the answer yourself? But one look at Aidie's expectant face made him realise that no matter what she would be by his side.

"We live," he gave her a smirk, "for them."


End file.
